fonchi262: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 vs Mikoyan MiG-31 High altitude, high speed soviet intercep
fonchi262:Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 vs MikoyanMiG-31 High altitude, high speed soviet interceptors, main physical differences:Single-wheel main landing gear legs on MiG-25 vs double wheel on 31Longer fuselage on MiG-31Wingtip rods on MiG-25, absent on 31. The engines stop at the vertical stabilizer on MiG-25, while they go beyond it on 31, on account of being longer and thinner. Raised cockpit that’s also closer to the tip of the nosecone on MiG-31, in order to accommodate the second crew member, 25 is an strictly one-seater in all combat versions, so it’s buried in the fuselage and further back.More pronounced dorsal spine on MiG-31 that stops before reaching the engine nozzles, on 25 it goes beyond them.The wing on the 25 “breaks” as soon as it meets the fuselage, while the 31 has a more seamless joint thanks to a slight profile curve.All MiG-31 variants have a large radome at the nose, while the trainer and recon variants of the 25 lacks it. MiG-25 cannot carry AA missiles under the fuselage or Overall the MiG-31 is a much improved version of the MiG-25, being far more maneuverable plane, with twice the range, a much better radar with a dedicated crew member to operate it, more variety of weapons including now cruise missiles, but it’s also slower and lacks a dedicated recon variant and a dedicated trainer, in the later relying on a periscope to simply use the radar officer’s position for the trainer pilot. -- source link
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