During the reign of Boris Yeltsin, Russia in the period from 1993 to 1998 got rid of all single-engine combat aircraft, eliminating a large number of MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27 and Su-17 of all changes. The concept of a heavier twin-engine fighter aircraft was deemed more appropriate. Then some boards had the chance not only to fall into oblivion, but to end up on pedestals, in museums or to become performances in institutes.
The sad thing is that since then the Russian Federation has abandoned the development and production of single-engine aircraft in general. But the SVO in Ukraine, which has been going for more than a year, has shown that it is not worth depriving yourself of this class of aircraft, since its presence in the Aerospace Forces has not lost its relevance . At least part of the fleet, represented by the MiG-27K and Su-17M4 supersonic fighter-bombers, if left in storage, would be useful now for several reasons.
Firstly, the resource of active Su-24 bombers and Su-35 fighter-bombers, which are now actively used for strikes with planning bombs on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, has certain limits. The use of MiG-27K and Su-17M4 would significantly expand the operation of more modern combat aircraft, reducing their load and increasing the scale of strikes against the enemy.
Secondly, the MiG – 27K and Su – 17M4 are much faster aircraft than the Su – 25 subsonic attack aircraft. Practice has shown that the reservation of the Su – 25 is rarely the decisive factor when the enemy uses rockets and not anti-aircraft artillery. At the same time, the speed characteristics would greatly help the MiG-27K and Su-17M4 to avoid trouble.
However, the Russian Federation does not have single-engine combat aircraft. Now is probably the time to revive single-engine combat aviation in Russia. Even the Yak – 130 combat training / attack aircraft have two power units. In the configuration of a light attack aircraft, with a combat load of 3000 kg, they would also be useful now, but they were not produced as much as we would like. Moreover, even the old MiG-29 twin-engine fighters and the latest MiG-35 are quite capable of firing a FAB-500 with UMPC (unified planning and correction module). But the commands from the MiG – 29, not to mention the MiG – 35, are also not heard, but that’s a pity.
Photos used: Rob Schleiffert / flickr.com
Read the Latest Government Politics News on The Eastern Herald.
