Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31 Foxhound: boeken - historie en inzet

MiG-31 Foxhound: Flying with the Russian Air Force

Dit prachtige Duke Hawkins fotoboek presenteert uitvoerig de MiG-31 Foxhound, in dienst bij de Russische luchtmacht.
Het boek bevat niet alleen actiefoto's, maar ook vele "walkaround" foto's die de details van het toestel uit verschillende hoeken tonen. Hoofdstukken over cockpit, romp, bewapening en onderhoudswerkzaamheden.

De serie "Aircraft in Detail" ontstond uit de samenwerking tussen piloten, vliegtuigtechnici en modelbouwers. Dit deel (nr. 12) over de MiG-31 en MiG-31BM Foxhound is geïllustreerd met een groot aantal kleurenfoto's van zeer hoge kwaliteit, waarvan de meeste nooit eerder zijn gepubliceerd.

Mikoyan MiG-31 Interceptor

The MiG-31 started life as an advanced derivative of the famous MiG-25P interceptor, becoming the first Soviet fourth-generation combat aircraft. First flown in 1975, it differed from its progenitor primarily in having a crew of two (pilot and weapons systems operator), a highly capable passive phased-array radar - a world first - and new R-33 long-range missiles as its primary armament.
The maximum speed was an impressive Mach 2.82, the cruising speed being Mach 2.35.

The type entered service in 1981; more than 500 copies were built between 1981 and 1994. The powerful radar and other avionics allowed the MiG-31 to operate as a 'mini-AWACS' scanning the airspace and guiding other interceptors to their targets; a flight of three such aircraft in line abreast formation could cover a strip 800 km (500 miles) wide. To this day the MiG-31 remains one of the key air defence assets of the Russian Air Force.

The book describes the MiG-31's developmental history, including upgrade programmes, and features a full and comprehensive survey of the various MiG-31 model-making kits currently available on the market.