Capabilities varied hugely within the variants, from the rather basic MiG-23MS to the formidable MiG-23MLD. It also spawned dedicated ground attack variants in the form of the radarless ‘duck-nosed’ MiG-23BN series and slower, heavily armed and armoured MiG-27, complete with a 30-mm ‘Gatling-style’ rotary cannon.
Intelligence reports of the Mikoyan MiG-29 tactical fighter sent ripples of panic through Western defence planners. The MiG-29 combined high performance, mind-bending manoeuvre ability, a new radar, and new missiles (including a new ultra-agile missile aimed by a helmet-mounted sight).
Designed to counter the US F-15 series and F-16 series, and replace older tactical fighters, the MiG-29 model entered service in 1983. It combined an excellent aerodynamic configuration, very similar to the larger Su-27 type, with two powerful engines, and unlike the early F-16s, could fire medium-range air-to-air missiles.
Whereas the F-16 enjoyed a healthy manoeuvrability advantage over the Mikoyan MiG-23, the Mikoyan MiG-29 levelled the playing field. The excellent manoeuvrability was fortified with the helmet-cued thrust-vectoring R-73 ‘Archer’ missile, the first of its kind, gifting the Fulcrum with a terrifying potency in close-in air combat.
Though in many ways superb, the Cold War Mikoyan MiG-29 had smoky engines, making it easy to spot from a distance, a poor range, and a human-machine interface far inferior to the F-16 series and F/A-18. However, it was a hot tactical fighter, with a phenomenal power-to-weight ratio, able to deploy from rough and ready austere airfields, and represented a serious threat.
7: Mil Mi-24 ‘Hind’
Ok, so the Mil Mi-24 ‘Hind’ series is a helicopter and not a ‘warplane’, but in both the way it was used and its significance, it must be included. With many of the other aircraft in this post, we have compared the aircraft to Western equivalents, but in the case of the Mil Mi-24 models, this is not possible; it did not, and still does not, have a direct Western counterpart (the closet analogue, the Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk series was cancelled).
In the West, there are attack helicopters, like the Apache, and transport helicopters, like the H-60 Blackhawk, yet the Mikoyan Mi-24 is both in one airframe.
Able to carry a squad of troops or fight in the ‘tank-busting’ or Close Air Support role with unguided rockets, missiles and a powerful guns, the Mi-24 Hind has become iconic after fighting in almost every war in the late 20th and early 21st century. Able to be delivered in discrete crates to foreign nations and then easily assembled in the field, the Mi-24 is a low-tech, high-performance ‘flying tank’.
It first flew in 1970 and, from 1974-1978, smashed nine world helicopter records for speed and climb rate, five of which still stand today. Interestingly for the time, some records for the Mi-24 Hind were with an all-female crew, consisting of Galina Rastorgueva and Ludmila Polyanskaya.
6: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
Combining cutting-edge aerodynamic research from a defeated Nazi Germany with world-class British jet technology company gifted to the Soviet Union resulted in the spectacular Mikoyan MiG-15 fighter. The aircraft first flew at the end of 1947, three months after the similar US North American F-86 Sabre series.
Like the F-86, the Mikoyan MiG-15 adopted a swept wing configuration. This feature would soon dominate a new generation of ever-faster fighters, requiring a wing suitable for flight at speeds approaching the speed of sound. The Soviets had a slightly earlier swept-wing aircraft with the rather underwhelming Lavochkin La-160 models.
The Mikoyan MiG-15 upset any American ideas of total technological dominance in the Korean War, with only the F-86 Sabre able to offer an effective counter (all other United Nations (UN) fighters were at a distinct disadvantage). Extremely fast, agile, and high-flying with a terrific climb rate, it was also brimming with excellent firepower, notably its terrifying 37mm cannon.
The aircraft had a single-engine, the Klimov VK-1 centrifugal-flow turbojet series, based on the British Rolls-Royce Nene brand, which had been supplied to the USSR as a goodwill gesture, a move which was later considered ill-judged. The VK-1 offered 26.5 kN (5950 lbf) of thrust. The MiG-15 was formidable for its time and certainly deserves a place on our list.
5: Tupolev Tu-22 ‘Blinder’ and Tu-22M ‘Backfire’
The Tupolev Tu-22 was a bomber of unorthodox configuration, with the two engines mounted below the tail, that entered service in early 1960s. It was beset with design issues and was considered a challenging and dangerous aircraft to fly. It did, however, offer a supersonic top speed.
Among the most exciting roles the Tu-22 (in particular, the Tupolev Tu-22K) was tasked with was the destruction of US aircraft carrier groups, a daunting mission they trained for in earnest. It was planned that these well-defended targets would be overwhelmed by 24-30 missile-launching Tupolev Tu-22Rs, supported by Tu-22P jamming aircraft series.
Ironing out the many flaws of the Tu-22 series, led to the virtual redesign that was the Tupolev Tu-22M, though to save face it retained the same Tupolev Tu-22 designation. The new design had relocated engines and air intakes (which were later modified again) along with a host of other improvements.
The Tu-22M series has a variable geometry (‘swing’) wing, and is faster and longer than the Tupolev Tu-22; the weight went up by 2000 kg. Unusually, for an aircraft that first flew in late 1960s, the Tu-22M kept a defensive tail-gun. Fast, with a good range, and able to carry 24,000 kg (53,000 lb) of bombs and missiles, the Tu-22 was a formidable vehicle, and still remains in service today in updated versions.
4: Sukhoi Su-24 ‘Fencer’
Starting life as the rather exotic T-6, complete with lift jets and fixed delta wing with downturned tips, by the time the Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer design was completed, it was a variable-geometry (swing-) wing design with side-by-side seating optimized for the long-range low-level penetration attack role.
The Sukhoi Su-24 introduced automatic terrain-following radar to Soviet air power, allowing very fast and low penetrations of hostile air space to minimise the risk of radar detection. The Sukhoi Su-24 series was comparable with the American General Dynamics F-111 (and rather bigger than the European Panavia Tornado IDS).
At maximum load-out, the Su-24 weighs approximately 45,755 kg (98,463 lb). It can carry up to 9000 kg (18,635 lb) of weapons on its nine hardpoints. It also boasts tremendous firepower from its internal 23-mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23M ‘Gatling-style’ rotary cannon.
The Sukhoi Su-24 first flew in 1974 and around 1400 were manufactured. Various Su-24 variants were created for electronic warfare, reconnaissance and maritime attack. Unlike the F-111 seroes and Tornado models, the Su-24 uses a turbojet rather than turbofan engine (as does the Sukhoi Su-25, an aircraft broadly comparable to the A-10 that almost made it to this list).
3: Mikoyan MiG-31 ‘Foxhound’
Building on the success of the extremely fast Mikoyan MiG-25, the MiG-31 was a radical upgrade carrying the necessary sensors and weapons to deal with a new generation of fast low-flying NATO ground attack aircraft, bombers and cruise missiles. The Mikoyan MiG-31, along with the equally fast Foxbat, was (and still is) the fastest operational interceptor in the world.
Key to its offensive capabilities was the massive Zaslon, which was the first electronically-scanned fighter radar. It was a passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar, a stepping stone to the Active Electronically Scanned Arrays carried by modern combat aircraft. The MiG-31 had an electronically scanned radar when it entered service in 1981; the first non-Russian (US and Japanese) fighters to feature this technology were around twenty years later.
Like the US Navy’s F-14 Tomcat team, the aircraft used massive, long-range air-to-air missiles as its primary armament. The weapon was the R-33 series (NATO Name: AA-9 Amos). Combined with the Zaslon radar, this armament meant the Mikoyan MiG-31 could engage enemies at longer ranges than other aircraft, bar the similarly long-armed F-14 Tomcat models.
Defending the biggest nation on Earth was not easy, and the fast, long-ranged MiG-31 practised ‘wolf pack’ style tactics where four aircraft sharing information by datalink could sweep great swathes of airspace. The rather monstrous MiG-31 weighs around twice as much as a Second World War Lancaster bomber, can fly at Mach 2.83 and remains in service today.
Though similar to the Mikoyan MiG-29 in configuration, the Su-27 is far larger. The Su-27 series is around 22 metres long (over 72 feet), while the MiG-29 is about 17 metres (over 55 feet). The Su-27 proved highly adaptable, but the story of these derivatives lies after the Cold War.
It combines a clever aerodynamic configuration with a large amount of the aircraft’s fuselage contributing to lift, with a high power-to-weight ratio (at lighter fuel loads). Shortly after the Cold War, the Hunter Flanker’s draw-dropping air displays astonished Western peoples with extremely high alpha and wild controlled manoeuvres at extremely low speeds.
1: Tupolev Tu-95 ‘Bear’
A very small number of military aircraft types that first flew in the early 1950s war remain in active service today; the B-52 bomber series and C-130 transport spring to mind for the Americans, and for the Soviets and then Russians, the utterly distinctive and horrendously noisy Sukhoi Tu-95.
This massive strategic Tupolev bomber is known for its combination of sharply swept-back wings and four massive NK-12 turboprop engines with contra-rotating propellers. The turboprop powerplant was chosen as, at the time of the aircraft’s conception, Soviet jet engines could not offer the fuel efficiency required for strategic range.
Though it does not have pure jet engines, the Tupolev Tu-95 is extremely fast; at 575 mph (925 km/h), it is the second fastest propeller-driven aircraft (after the Avanti business aircraft). Other family members included the Tupolev Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft, Tu-114 airliner and Sukhoi Tu-116 VIP transport aircraft.
Developed primarily for the grim task of nuclear bombing, the Tupolev Tu-95 delivered the most destructive bomb of the Cold War, the apocalyptic 50-megaton AN602 ‘Tsar’ bomb. Tested on 30 September 1961, this horrific device created a fire 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) wide and a mushroom cloud 7.9 times higher than Mount Everest.
By Simon Dahboss 
