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Mikoyan-Gurevich SN

1953 COLD WAR X-PLANE

The Story of Mikoyan-Gurevich SN

Engineers have been seeking to maximize the value of such platforms as long as fighter jets have appeared over the battlefield. Advances may come in the form of various additions and changes - more powerful engines, an additional second crew, more advanced avionics and more powerful weapons.

The Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich Concern left its mark on the Eastern Front during the great air battles of World War II (1939-1945), and the company eventually moved from a propeller-powered design to an advanced jet-powered formthe MiGimpressively Aviation Gold - 15 - Provides Korean War glory (1950-1953).

An experiment of the MiG-15 family was the proposed development of a fighter with an "articulated" weapon system. In this development, a trainable gun set was mounted on the nose of the aircraft, giving the pilot control of raising or lowering the gun.

In this way, the operator has a distinct advantage over the enemy in melee, as he is able to point these weapons at his enemy. Compared with the alternative, the advantage is clear - turning the entire aircraft in the direction of intended fire.

The MiG-15 in question had a 2 x 23mm gun in its articulated weapons system, the trials of which were completed in 1951.

The general concept continued until 1953, when the MiG-17 had become the main jet fighter of the Soviet Air Force. A new three-gun articulated mounting system was developed and mounted on the nose of the fighter, requiring redrawing of the nose-mounted air intakes as a side fit of the fuselage to aspirate the single turbojet (Klimov VK-1A with 5,952 pounds of thrust) inside.

The weapon system is electric and provides a limited height/depth range for its three guns - these are 23mm TKB 495 systems, one mounted to port and the other to starboard. In general, the articulated weapon system is considered "SV-25".

In general, the modified MiG-17 still retains the original design of the tail, wing elements (with recognizable double boundary layer barriers), retractable tricycle landing gear and single-seat cockpit, so Its origins are still clear. Intern's eyes - but the outline of the plane is permanently altered anyway.

The MiG SN's short-lived testing of missile technology quickly rendered the rather novel concept of a trainable nose cannon moot. Additionally, concerns have been raised about the overall operational complexity of these weapons (especially aiming the gun in the heat of operating a jet fighter), with the entire weapon system already weighing more than 1,000 pounds, further hindering further development of the concept.

So the MiG SN program has little to offer other than a single modified prototype.