Soviet Union

The story of the Sukhoi Su-15 interceptor that rammed an Iranian Canadair CL-44 carrying smuggled weapons through Soviet Airspace

The story of the Sukhoi Su-15 interceptor that rammed an Iranian Canadair CL-44 carrying smuggled weapons through Soviet Airspace

The Su-15 fighter pilot gave the customary ‘follow me’ signals, but the big turboprop ignored them and started maneuvering dangerously,… Read More

2 months ago

MiG-15 Fagot warbird loses canopy after taking off during the Classic Jet Aircraft Association air show

About 10 a.m. on Saturday Mar. 4, 2023 the MiG-15 Fagot took off from Fairhope Airport and shortly after liftoff,… Read More

3 months ago

Here’s why Soviets never developed their own SR-71 and why the MiG-25 Foxbat was never as fast as the Blackbird

The Soviets did not have the technology to make blades that could tolerate as high temperatures as the J58 turbine.… Read More

3 months ago

The story of the former SR-71 Blackbird pilot who became the first NATO serviceman to fly Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bomber

On Aug. 22, 2001 Lt.-Gen. Thomas J. Keck, Commander of the USAF's 8th Air Force and former SR-71 Blackbird pilot… Read More

4 months ago

Did you know that Soviet helicopter crews’ survival kit during invasion of Afghanistan featured an almost medieval kit with steel breastplate, greaves for the legs and vambraces on the arms?

Unsurprisingly, this almost medieval kit was immediately rejected as too hot, heavy and cumbersome. Advertise The Soviet Union's invasion of… Read More

5 months ago

Check out these pictures of Viktor Belenko’s defecting MiG-25 Foxbat buzzing Hakodate rooftops before landing at the city’s international airport

Soviet Lt. Viktor Belenko became an instant celebrity when he successfully defected to the West by flying his Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25… Read More

9 months ago

The mysteries behind KAL 007 shooting down: the night Soviet Su-15 fighters shot down Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 over Sakhalin Island

Even today, debate continues as to what the KAL Boeing 747 was doing for 2.5 hours in a place where… Read More

10 months ago

The story of Mathias Rust, the German teenager who humiliated the Soviet War Machine by landing his Cessna 172 in Moscow’s Red Square

After Mathias Rust’s landing in Red Square, Muscovites joked the place was now Sheremetyevo 3, as Sheremetyevo 1 and 2… Read More

1 year ago

The story of the Soviet Su-9 pilots who were ordered to ram Powers’ U-2 (One of them claimed to have downed the U-2 with the wake of his jet by crossing in front of it!)

Su-9 pilot Anatoliy Nikolayevich Sakovich was ordered to scramble and intercept, even though his aircraft was carrying no missiles; yet,… Read More

1 year ago

Su-15 Vs F-100: why Flagon fighter jets were never able to intercept Turkish Super Sabres violating Soviet airspace

The lone Su-15 proved incapable of intercepting the F-100s, because its radar lacked `look-down/shoot-down' capability. Closed in 1949, the Sukhoi… Read More

1 year ago

There Can Be Only One! How the Sukhoi OKB took over the Russian Aircraft Industry.

During negotiations with Post Soviet Russian President Yeltsin, the head of the then Sukhoi OKB managed to convince the Russian… Read More

1 year ago

The story of Adolf Tolkachev, the Phazotron Chief Designer Who Killed Soviet Aircraft Reputation and why the Su-27 proved to be Poor Air Superiority Fighter in Real Combat

In 1979, Adolf Georgievich Tolkachev, an electronics engineer who was working as one of the chief designers at the Phazotron… Read More

1 year ago

In the event of WWIII during the Cold War the Soviets would conduct 3,000-Aircraft Strike against West Germany for three Times a Day, every Single Day of the Conflict

Essence of the V-FA's plan for fighting the NATO was a 1,000-aircraft strike down every of three major axes over… Read More

1 year ago

Strange but true: the Soviet Su-9 flew better without pilot. The incidents where pilotless Fishpot-Bs landed on their own.

The Su-9 was famed for its 'willingness to fly', and the type's service record includes few truly amazing incidents.… Read More

2 years ago

Up to eight Cold War-Era MiG-23 Flogger fighter jets to be restored for flight in the US

Two Cold War-Era MiG-23 fighter jets have already been brought to hangar near the East Texas Regional Airport to… Read More

2 years ago

SR-71 pilot tells the story of tense mission over the Barents Sea where he spotted a Soviet MiG-31 scrambled to intercept his Blackbird

‘I assumed the MiG-31 pilot would like nothing better than an opportunity to fire his missiles at an SR-71 Blackbird,’… Read More

2 years ago

In Soviet Times the Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber established 78 world records officially recognised by the FAI

The Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack continued to establish records even after the fall of the Soviet Union. Developed as the answer… Read More

2 years ago