Mikoyan MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 Foxbat, the MiG-31 is based on, the MiG-31 has the distinction of being one of the fastest combat jets in the world. It continues to be operated by the Russian Air Force and the Kazakhstan Air Force following the end of the Cold War, the Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until at least 2030. The MiG-25 made substantial design sacrifices in order to achieve speed, altitude. It lacks maneuverability at speeds and is difficult to fly at low altitudes. The MiG-25s speed is limited to Mach 2.83 but it could reach a speed of Mach 3.2 or more with the risk of engine damage. Development of the MiG-25s replacement began with the Ye-155MP prototype which first flew on 16 September 1975, although it bore a superficial resemblance to the MiG-25, it had a longer fuselage to accommodate the radar operators cockpit and was in many respects a new design.
An important development was the radar, capable of both look-up and look-down/shoot-down engagement, as well as multiple target tracking. This gave the Soviet Union an interceptor able to engage the most likely Western intruders at long range, like its MiG-25 predecessor, the introduction of the MiG-31 was surrounded by early speculation and misinformation concerning its design and abilities. The West learned of the new interceptor from Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, Belenko described an upcoming Super Foxbat with two seats and an ability to intercept cruise missiles. According to his testimony, the new interceptor was to have air intakes similar to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, serial production of the MiG-31 began in 1979. The MiG-31 is able to combat effectiveness despite the potential use of active and passive radar jammers. A total of 519 MiG-31s was produced of which 349 baseline models were produced at the Sokol plant between 1976 and 1988, the second production batch of 101 MiG-31DZs was produced between 1989 and 1991.
The final batch of 69 aircraft was produced between 1990 and 1994, of this final batch,50 were retained by the Kazakhstan Air Force after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Of the baseline models,40 airframes were upgraded to MiG-31BS standard, a project to upgrade the Russian MiG-31 fleet to the MiG-31BM standard began in 2010,100 aircraft are to be upgraded to MiG-31BM standard by 2020. Russian Federation Defence Ministry chief Colonel Yuri Balyko has claimed that the upgrade will increase the effectiveness of the aircraft several times over. 18 MIG-31BMs were delivered in 2014, the Russian military will receive more than 130 upgraded MiG-31BMs, and the first 24 aircraft have already been delivered, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters on 9 April 2015. Russia plans to start development of a replacement for the MiG-31 by 2019, the aircraft will be called PAK-DP
Afrikanda (air base)
Afrikanda is a military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located just north of the village of the same name, though it is built for fighter operations with 30 revetments, it has largely served the interceptor aircraft role. From 1953, the 431st Fighter Aviation Regiment was stationed at the base, from 1960 the regiment was part of the 21st Air Defence Corps. In September 1993 it was merged with the 641 Guards IAP, the regiment operated a number of Su-27 aircraft. The 470 Guards IAP disbanded on 30 November 2000, it is possible that Afrikanda may have closed
Yakovlev Yak-28
The Yakovlev Yak-28 was a swept wing, turbojet-powered combat aircraft used by the Soviet Union. Based on the Yak-129 prototype first flown on 5 March 1958, the Yak-28 was first seen by the West at the Tushino air show in 1961. Western analysts initially believed it to be a rather than an attack aircraft —. After its actual role was realized, the Yak-28 bomber series was redesignated Brewer, the Yak-28 had a large mid-mounted wing, swept at 45 degrees. The tailplane set halfway up the vertical fin, slats were fitted on the leading edges and slotted flaps were mounted on the trailing edges of the wings. The two Tumansky R-11 turbojet engines, initially with 57 kN thrust each, were mounted in pods, the wing-mounted engines and bicycle-type main landing gear were widely spaced, allowing most of the fuselage to be used for fuel and equipment. It was primarily subsonic, although Mach 1 could be exceeded at high altitude, total production of all Yak-28s was 1,180. It was in a Yak-28 that Captain Boris Kapustin and Lieutenant Yuri Yanov performed an act on 6 April 1966.
The crew managed to avoid a housing estate but crashed into Lake Stößensee without ejecting and they were posthumously awarded the medal of the Red Banner. The first engine was recovered on September 18,1966, both engines were returned to the Soviets on May 2,1966. The Yak-28P was withdrawn in the early 1980s, but trainer and other versions remained in service until after the fall of the Soviet Union, the reconnaissance and ECM aircraft were eventually replaced by variants of the Sukhoi Su-24. Initial production version, built in small numbers without radar, yak-28B Production of Yak-28 with weapon-aiming radar fitted, and various improvements such as fittings for JATO bottles. Yak-28L Tactical bomber with ground-controlled targeting system using triangulation from ground-based transmitter sites, yak-28I Tactical bomber with the internal targeting system Initsiativa-2 360-degree ground-mapping radar. Yak-28UVP prototype A single Yak-28 converted for testing short takeoff and landing techniques with JATO bottles, yak-28U Dual control trainer with a second cockpit in the nose for student pilots, prototype in 1962.
Yak-28SR prototype first use of SR, chemical warfare aircraft for dispensing dust or liquid agents from underwing tank/applicators. Though recommended for production none were delivered to the VVS, Tactical reconnaissance aircraft fitted with an active radio/radar jammer. Production was on a small scale. Yak-28TARK Television reconnaissance system to send images to a ground base
ICAO airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating aerodromes around the world. ICAO codes are used to identify other aviation facilities such as weather stations, International Flight Service Stations or Area Control Centers. Flight information regions are identified by a unique ICAO-code. Code selections in North America were based on existing radio station identifiers, for example, radio stations in Canada were already starting with C, so it seemed logical to begin Canadian airport identifiers with Cxxx. The United States had many pre-existing airports with established mnemonic codes and their ICAO codes were formed simply by prepending a K to the existing codes, as half the radio station identifiers in the US began with K. Most ICAO codes outside the US and Canada have a geographical structure. Most of the rest of the world was classified in a more planned top-down manner, thus Uxxx referred to the Soviet Union with the second letter denoting the specific region within it, and so forth.
Europe had too many locations for one starting letter, so it was split into Exxx for northern Europe. The second letter was more specific, EGxx was the United Kingdom, EDxx was West Germany, ETxx was East Germany, LExx was Spain, LAxx was Albania, France was designated LFxx, as the counterpart EFxx was the unambiguously northern Finland. ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes, which are used for airline timetables, reservations. For example, the IATA code for Londons Heathrow Airport is LHR, in general IATA codes are usually derived from the name of the airport or the city it serves, while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country. Far more aerodromes have ICAO codes than IATA codes, and to add to the confusion IATA codes are assigned to railway stations. Unlike the IATA codes, the ICAO codes generally have a structure and are comprehensive. In general, the first letter is allocated by continent and represents a country or group of countries within that continent, the second letter generally represents a country within that region, and the remaining two are used to identify each airport.
The exception to rule is larger countries that have single-letter country codes. In either case, ICAO codes generally provide geographical context unlike IATA codes, for example, if one knows that the ICAO code for Heathrow is EGLL, one can deduce that the airport EGGP is somewhere in the UK. On the other hand, knowing that the IATA code for Heathrow is LHR does not enable one to deduce the location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty, there are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code made for political or administrative reasons. Similarly Saint Pierre and Miquelon is controlled by France, and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe, further, in region L, all available 2-letter prefixes have been exhausted and thus no additional countries can be added
Nordavia
Nordavia, formerly known as Aeroflot-Nord, is an airline with its head office on the grounds of Talagi Airport in Arkhangelsk, Russia. It mainly operates scheduled domestic and regional services and its main bases are Talagi Airport and Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport. The airline was formed in 1963 as Arkhangelsk United Aviation Squadron, in August 2004 Aeroflot acquired 51% of the airline, with the rest being held by Aviainvest. The company was renamed Aeroflot-Nord, becoming Aeroflots second regional airline and it joined the European Regions Airline Association in December 2006. Since the contract with Aeroflot ended on 1 December 2009, the airline has operated independently as Nordavia, in March 2011, Aeroflot sold the airline to Norilsk Nickel for a reported US$7 million. Kommersant has quoted experts who believe that Norilsk Nickel may merge Nordavia with Taimyr Air Company, on December 1,2011 Norilsk Nickel reported that Nordavia is to be merged in Taimyr Air Company. All 88 passengers, including 6 crew members were killed
Talagi Airport
Talagi Airport is an international airport serving Arkhangelsk, located 11 kilometers outside the city. In 2001 it had 105,797 passengers and 921 tonnes of cargo, the airport was founded on February 5,1963. It had a peak in 1990 with 952,457 passengers. Talagi Airport serves as a hub for Nordavia. The name Talagi originates in two khutors and small village located in Solombalsky Volost, Arkhangelsk Uyezd, Arkhangelsk Governorate, Talagi Airport was originally built in the summer of 1942 under the supervision of the State Defense Committee representative Ivan Papanin as a military base with a gravel runway. The Soviet Air Defence Forces had a presence at this airfield with 518th Fighter Aviation Regiment flying Tupolev Tu-128 from 1966 onward and it received MiG-31 aircraft during the 1980s. The regiment was disbanded in 1998, Talagi Airport official site Article on the airport Airport information for ULAA at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006. Source, DAFIF, Airport information for ULAA at Great Circle Mapper.
Current weather for ULAA at NOAA/NWS Accident history for ARH at Aviation Safety Network
Amderma
Previously an urban-type settlement, it was demoted to a rural locality in November 2005, but its rural status was not officially codified until a law to that effect was passed in April 2015. Amderma has a polar climate with very cool and short summers combined with very long. Although relative winter temperatures are normally hovering around −20 °C, the months of May. As a result of the lack of warm temperatures Amderma is above the tree line. It experiences midnight sun and polar night, the cold Arctic Ocean tempers and reduces the heat effect midnight sun brings to inland locations further south such as Naryan-Mar. Brief warm temperatures have been recorded when southerly winds have reached the area with a July record high of 31 °C. Winters are very cold for a location, but in spite of this there are several marine localities at lower parallels in North America that experience colder January lows than Amderma. Fluorite deposits are located in the vicinity of Amderma, but the mines have been abandoned since the 1990s and it is home to the Amderma Airport, a civil airport and military base.
An article about Amderma at sevmeteo. ru
Tupolev Tu-28
The Tupolev Tu-28 was a long-range interceptor aircraft introduced by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The official designation was Tu-128, but this designation was commonly used in the West. It was the largest and heaviest fighter ever in service, in the 1950s, the Soviet Union sought means to defend against nuclear-armed American bombers possibly penetrating its borders. Contemporary interceptors, even the Yakovlev Yak-28P, were able to only a radius of a few hundred kilometers. Considering both, the numbers required to defend a 5,000 km air front were economically impossible to maintain. This left the Soviet Union able to provide an air defense only for selected valuable areas. The PVO decided to cover the territory, but with a more loose defense. In 1955 it placed a requirement for a large area-defense interceptor, the PVO requirement called for a supersonic aircraft with enormous fuel tanks for both a good patrol time and long range, a capable radar, and the most powerful air-to-air missiles possible.
The first attempt, although unsuccessful, was a 30-tonne Lavochkin La-250 prototype, iosif Nezval of Tupolev Design Bureau led development of the new interceptor aircraft. The work began in 1958, based on a single prototype of the unsuccessful Tu-98 supersonic bomber. The military designation of the interceptor was at first Tu-28, but it was changed in 1963 to Tu-128, the Tu-128 had a broad, low/mid-mounted swept wing carrying the main landing gear in wing-mounted pods, and slab tailplanes. Two Lyulka AL-7F-2 turbojet engines were mounted in the fuselage, the two-man crew of pilot and navigator were seated in tandem. The Tu-128, with its weight of 43 tonnes, was the heaviest fighter to enter service. It was a bomber-interceptor with high wing loading, unsophisticated but reliable avionics and it was not an agile aircraft. It was intended to combat only NATO bombers like the B-52, the interceptor made its initial public appearance in the 1961 Tushino air parade. Western experts, unaware that the bulge on the belly carried testing instruments, the production version lacked the bulge and had a large nose radome housing a radar, known as RP-S Smerch, having a detection range of about 50 km and a lock-on range of about 40 km.
Armament of the Tu-128 was four Bisnovat R-4 air-to-air missiles, usually two of them were R-4Rs with semi-active radar homing and two were R-4T infrared-homing missiles, with the former on the outer pylons and the latter on the inner underwing pylons. There was no internal weapons bay, production of the Tu-128 ended in 1970 with a total of 198 aircraft having been built
Sukhoi Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 is a twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. The Su-27 was designed for air superiority missions, and subsequent variants are able to perform almost all aerial warfare operations and it was designed with the Mikoyan MiG-29 as its complement. The Su-27 entered service with the Soviet Air Forces in 1985, there are several related developments of the Su-27 design. The Su-30 is a two-seat, dual-role fighter for all-weather, air-to-air, the Su-33 Flanker-D is a naval fleet defense interceptor for use on aircraft carriers. Further versions include the side-by-side two-seat Su-34 Fullback strike/fighter-bomber variant, the Shenyang J-11 is a Chinese licence-built version of the Su-27. In 1969, the Soviet Union learned of the U. S. Air Forces F-X program, the Soviet leadership soon realized that the new American fighter would represent a serious technological advantage over existing Soviet fighters. What was needed was a fighter with both good agility and sophisticated systems.
In response, the Soviet General Staff issued a requirement for a Perspektivnyy Frontovoy Istrebitel, specifications were extremely ambitious, calling for long range, good short-field performance, excellent agility, Mach 2+ speed, and heavy armament. The aerodynamic design for the new aircraft was carried out by TsAGI in collaboration with the Sukhoi design bureau. When the specification proved too challenging and costly for an aircraft in the number needed. The Sukhoi design, which was altered progressively to reflect Soviet awareness of the F-15s specifications, emerged as the T-10, the aircraft had a large wing, with two separate podded engines and a twin tail. The ‘tunnel’ between the two engines, as on the F-14 Tomcat, acts both as a lifting surface and hides armament from radar. The T-10 was spotted by Western observers and assigned the NATO reporting name Flanker-A, the development of the T-10 was marked by considerable problems, leading to a fatal crash of the second prototype, the T-10-2 on 7 July 1978, due to shortcomings in the FBW control system.
Extensive redesigns followed and a version of the T-10-7, now designated the T-10S. It crashed due to problems and was replaced by T-10-12 which became T-10S-2. This one crashed on 23 December 1981 during a high-speed test, eventually the T-10-15 demonstrator, T-10S-3, evolved into the definitive Su-27 configuration. The T-10S-3 was modified and officially designated the P-42, setting a number of records for time-to-height. The P-42 Streak Flanker was stripped of all armament, the fin tips, tail-boom and the wingtip launch rails were removed
Belushya Guba
Its population was reported as 1, 972 , a decline of more than 20% from 2, 622 . It is the permanent settlement of the island territory of Novaya Zemlya. A large proportion of its population is made up of personnel associated with the nuclear test sites located on the island. The whole Novaya Zemlya archipelago, including Belushya Guba, is an area of restricted access, about 9 kilometers northeast of Belushya Guba is the settlement of Rogachevo, the second largest in the archipelago, along with the Rogachevo airbase. Upon visiting Novaya Zemlya in 1894, Arkhangelsk Governor Aleksandr Engelgardt decided to create a new encampment, in 1896, an expedition conducted a survey of the west coast of Novaya Zemlya. The following year Belushya Guba was founded, during World War II, Belushya Guba was a focus of both German and Soviet attention. German U-boats used Belushya Bay as an area in 1941. The German military contemplated establishing a station or other land-based facilities nearby. On July 27,1942, German submarine U-601 shelled Malye Karmakuly near Belushia Bay, damaging seaplanes, living huts, U-601 torpedoed and sank Soviet merchant ship Krestianin, carrying coal, as it neared Belushya Guba.
On August 19, German submarine U-209 tried to enter Belushya Guba, U-209 departed when Soviet coast guard ship and icebreaker SKR-18 approached from Belushuya Guba. Belushya Guba was used as an anchorage by Russian convoys between the Barents Sea and Archangelsk, a Soviet naval base was established in Belushya Guba in 1944. The settlement started to flourish in 1954, when Novaya Zemlya became established as a nuclear test site, in 1956, the whole indigenous population of Novaya Zemlya, mostly Nenets, were resettled from the islands. Belushya Guba is located in a bay with the same name. The natural conditions allow year-round sailing of all types and classes of vessels with minimal cost for icebreaking support, the bay is well protected from high surf and drifting ice. The temperature in Belushya Guba ranges from −12 °C to +10 °C in the summer months, in the long term, Belushya Guba may become an important transport hub. There is currently a project for a major oil port, for the transshipment of oil.
In developing the nearby manganese and polymetallic deposits, the port will handle ore shipments and it is expected that the prospective port will reduce the cost of hydrocarbon shipments. There are two flights weekly from Arkhangelsk to Rogachevo Airport, located 9 kilometres north-east of the settlement
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