Top 10: Best Soviet Warplanes of the Cold War

Pumping out warplanes by the tens of thousands, the USSR manufactured and deployed an astonishing number of military aircraft in its sixty-nine years of existence.

With the defeat of Hitler, a tense rivalry between the capitalist and communist nations ignited, and the Cold War began. As nuclear superpowers sized each other up, and fought via a series of brutal proxy wars, combat aircraft grew ever more potent. Here are the 10 best Soviet Warplanes of the Cold War:

10: Tupolev Tu-160 ‘Blackjack’

The heaviest combat aircraft to ever enter service, the Tupolev Tu-160 is a large supersonic variable-sweep (‘swing’) wing strategic bomber. On a variable geometry wing aircraft, the wing sweep can be adjusted in flight to best suit the speed of the aircraft. Wings are set fully forward for take-off and landing, and fully back for supersonic flight.

It is similar in configuration to the American Rockwell B-1B bomber, but is far larger and far faster (the initially faster and less stealthy B-1A never entered service). The Tu-160 has a blended wing-body configuration, which offers both a reduction of radar cross section and aerodynamic advantages.  

The Tu-160 has a maximum take-off weight of 275,000 kg (606,271 lb), the same weight as over four fully loaded wartime Lancaster bombers. It is no slouch: a top speed of Mach 2.05 makes it faster (by around 190mph or 305km/h) than the fastest operational carrier fighter in the US Navy today.

The Tu-160 (NATO name: Blackjack) first flew on 18 December 1981 and entered operational service in 1987. Because of its service entry date, it was not around for a great deal of time with the Soviet Air Force; it served for only four years before the end of the Cold War, so it cannot rank high in our list.

9: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 ‘Flogger’

Outrageously fast and made in colossal numbers, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 ‘Flogger’ was a single-engined variable geometry (‘swing’) wing tactical fighter that served the Warsaw Pact nations from 1970 until the end of the Cold War. Though something of a handful to fly, the Mig-23 force was a huge combat mass of high-performance fighters.

We spoke to engineer Mihai Vălceleanu about the Flogger’s astonishing speed, “..maximum Mach number stated in most sources is 2.35. And that’s correct, for reasons of temperature and directional static stability, the MiG-23 is indeed limited to Mach 2.35. But that’s not its true limit. According to the MiG-23M/ML flight manuals, the maximum Mach at high altitude is 2.55 or 2.6, and that’s not even clean…that’s when carrying two R-23 missiles!”

Capabilities varied hugely between 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 and slower, heavily armed and armoured MiG-27, complete with a 30-mm ‘Gatling-style’ rotary cannon.

A total of 5047 MiG-23s were made, representing well over 40% of all variable geometry wing aircraft ever produced. This Soviet fighter was relatively cheap and straightforward to make and spoke of the Soviet doctrine of superior numbers over high technology and the ability to operate from austere airstrips.

8: Mikoyan MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum’

Intelligence reports of the MiG-29 tactical fighter sent ripples of panic through Western defence planners. The MiG-29 combined high performance, mind-bending manoeuvrability, 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 and F-16, and replace older tactical fighters, the MiG-29 entered service in 1983. It combined an excellent aerodynamic configuration, very similar to the larger Su-27, 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 MiG-23, the 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 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 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 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 article, we have compared the aircraft to Western equivalents, but in the case of the Mil Mi-24, this is not possible; it did not, and still does not, have a direct Western counterpart (the closet analogue, the Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk was cancelled).

In the West, there are attack helicopters, like the Apache, and transport helicopters, like the H-60 Blackhawk, yet the Mi-24 is both in one airframe.

Able to carry a squad of troops or fight in the ‘tank-busting’ or Close Air Support (CAS) role with unguided rockets, missiles and a powerful gun, the Mi-24 has become iconic after fighting in almost every war in the late 20^th and early 21^st 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 1969 and, from 1975-1978, 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 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 gifted to the Soviet Union resulted in the spectacular MiG-15 fighter. The aircraft first flew at the end of 1947, three months after the similar US North American F-86 Sabre.

Like the F-86, the 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.

The 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 fighters were at a distinct disadvantage). Extremely fast, agile, and high-flying with a terrific climb rate, it was also brimming with firepower, notably its terrifying 37mm cannon.

The aircraft had a single-engine, the Klimov VK-1 centrifugal-flow turbojet, based on the British Rolls-Royce Nene, 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 Tu-22 was a bomber of unorthodox configuration, with the two engines mounted below the tail, that entered service in 1962. 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 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 Tu-22Rs, supported by Tu-22P jamming aircraft.

5: Tupolev Tu-22 and Tu-22M

Ironing out the many flaws of the Tu-22, led to the virtual redesign that was the Tu-22M, though to save face it retained the same 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 has a variable geometry (‘swing’) wing, and is faster and longer than the Tu-22; the weight went up by 2000 kg. Unusually, for an aircraft that first flew in 1969, 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 or missiles, the Tu-22 was a formidable machine, and 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 design was completed, it was a variable-geometry (swing-) wing design with side-by-side seating optimised for the long-range low-level penetration attack role.

The 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 Su-24 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 43,755 kg (96,463 lb). It can carry up to 8000 kg (17,635 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 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 and Tornado, the Su-24 uses a turbojet rather than turbofan engine (as does the 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 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 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, the aircraft used massive, long-range air-to-air missiles as its primary armament. The weapon was the R-33 (NATO Name: AA-9 Amos). Combined with the Zaslon radar, this armament meant the MiG-31 could engage enemies at longer ranges than other aircraft, bar the similarly long-armed F-14 Tomcat.

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.

2: Sukhoi Su-27 ‘Flanker’

The most feared Soviet fighter for the final years of the Cold War was the Su-27. It boasted everything in spades: spectacular turn rate, astonishing high alpha performance, world record-setting climb rate, weapons persistence (it could carry more air-to-air missiles than any other Cold War fighter) and, importantly, a long-range.

The Sukhoi T-10 (the company designation for the series) had a troubled early development, and the actual production aircraft looked somewhat different from the initial prototype. It entered service in 1985 and, once mature, challenged the F-15C Eagle for the unofficial title of the world’s best fighter. In this photo from 1990 a Su-27 is being shadowed by an American F-16.

Though similar to the MiG-29 in configuration, the Su-27 is far larger. The Su-27 is around 22 metres long (over 72 feet), while the MiG-29 is about 17 metres (over 55 feet). The Su-27 series 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 Flanker’s draw-dropping air displays astonished Western audiences 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 remain in active service today; the B-52 bomber and C-130 transport spring to mind for the Americans, and for the Soviets and then Russians, the utterly distinctive and horrendously noisy Tu-95.

This massive strategic 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.