Soviet Air Force Cold War - 1970s
By the end of 1970. Special attention was paid to the development and adoption of more efficient ways to destroy the enemy aircraft in air defense operations. Air defense gradually took on the appearance of aerospace defense. At the state level, the positive to equip the country's Air Defense Forces measures new weapons and equipment have been taken. At the same time in the interest of the Air Force developed a fundamentally new aircraft with variable sweep wing in flight. Visibly it was improved bomber and missile-gun armament, avionics and aircraft systems.
By the end of 1970. basis of long-range aircraft were bombers Tu-16 is gradually replaced by the Tu-22, Tu-22M and Tu-95MS and a few strategic bombers Tu-160 (trial operation of which began in 1987), as a tanker aircraft used for their IL -78 and 3M.
Fighters, fighter-bombers, and fighter-interceptor MiG-27, MiG-23, MiG-25, Su-17, Su-24 bomber, Su-25 and their modifications in the 1960-1980-ies. It formed the basis of the Soviet Air Force and the Air Force of countries - participants of the Warsaw Treaty Organization. Military transport aircraft, in addition to helicopters, had a large fleet of aircraft - from light and medium cargo and passenger centenarians DC-3 "Douglas," Li-2, IL-14, AN-2, AN-24, AN-2b to severe IL -18, IL-76, IL-62, Tu-104, Tu-134, Tu-154, AN-12, AN-22 and IL-86 even and AN-124 "Ruslan".
At the turn of the 1960s-1970s. the Air Force received the second-generation helicopters with jet engines, are more capable: Airborne transport Mi-8 and its modifications, special Mi-12, Mi-24 combat.
One kind of tactical aviation was a ground attack aircraft, which is the order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR from 20 on April 1956 had been removed from the Soviet Air Force, completely replaced by fighter-bomber. The new military doctrine, consider the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons, in a different way to consider the function Air Force over the battlefield. According to the then military experts, the main forces were to be sent for attacks on targets located beyond the reach of the fire land forces, the attack was intended primarily for the action on the front lines.
Thus, the presence of the Air Force of specialized aircraft, attack aircraft became unnecessary. Just a few decades, experts, analyzing the actions of attack aircraft in local conflicts, the newly recognized need for such aircraft for direct support of ground troops on the battlefield. Thus, in early 1969 Soviet Defense Minister Andrei Grechko ordered the Minister of Aviation Industry to hold a competition-light aircraft attack aircraft, and in March, four KB - Ilyushin, Mikoyan, Sukhoi and Yakovlev - were demands for new aircraft. Competition for new aircraft won Sukhoi with its attack aircraft Su-25. For the first time the aircraft took to the skies in 1975.
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