PD-Z-? What the heck is that? -Serial- MiG-25PD with IFR? I know about
PDSL
and M prototypes, Mach 3.7(!)MA proposal and some other "letters"...

According to Gordon, PDZ stood for "Zapravka" - refuelling, and this was
designation of one MiG-25PD that was modified with an L-shaped IFR-probe to
be tested in the frame of the MiG-25BM project. To be sincere, from Gordon's
book it's actually uncelar if this version was ever tested in flight (at
least to me).

MiG-25RBV is supposed to be a '78 vintage RB with "general" ELINT device
"Virash", supplemented with more modern MiG-25RBT with ELINT "Tangazh".
(if
"radiotechnical reconnaissance " in Russian means that, "bokovoy RLS"
means
SLAR). Then there are RBK, RBS, RBN, RBSh, BM, XYZ (sorry, I couldn't
resist
on the last one! .

According to Gordon (p.37 of "MiG-25 and MiG-31"), a MiG-25RBV and a
MiG-25RBSh each were modified with IFR-probes and redesignated MiG-25RBVDZ
and MiG-25RBShDZ, and tested in flight, refuelling from an Il-78 tanker
(perhaps also from Su-24s equipped with UPAZ A-HDU pods). There should be
also a picture taken during these trials somewhere...

It seems that F-14 did influence the design of MiG-31 quite a bit,
and it'd be very interesting to hear comments on how the Soviet
experience with Iranian Tomcats affected the development of MiG-31.
Otoh, the primary roles of 31 and 14 are rather different, fleet
defence vs homeland air defence (against cruise missiles in
particular).

Well, (off the top of my head), Fedotov took off MiG-25MP (a.k.a. MiG-31)
at
1975 for the first flight, with phased array-model "Zaslon" prototype in
1976-77 and demonstrated tracking of 10 targets in 1978. So, no -direct-
influence of (at lest IRIAF) F-14.

I also think that F-14 had no direct influence on MiG-31. Only the total
interceptor capabilities - I stress: capabilities - of the AWG-9 and AIM-54
did. But even this only in the sence that the Soviets found it an
interesting concept and were amazed at how far could the radar reach and
missiles go - not in the sence that either AWG-9 or AIM-54 were supplied (by
whoever) to USSR. Namely, the stories about an Iranian defector flying an
F-14 to Soviet Union, or the Iranians outright supplying a whole Tomcat to
the Soviets, are also not truth, but rather based on the CIA/FTD operation
"Night Harvest", from August/September 1986, which resulted in two IRIAF
F-4s and a single F-14 pilot defecting to Iraq (see also p.225 of IIWITA).
These planes, however, were not given to the Soviets, but taken over by a
CIA/FTD team that was waiting for them: while a Tomcat and a Phantom each
were subsequently flown to Saudi Arabia, the Americans found the other
Phantom in such a poor condition that it was stripped of all the sensitive
parts and left behind in Iraq.

That's, BTW, why it came the US troops found that derelict IRIAF F-4E at
dump near Tallil AB, last year.

--


Tom Cooper
Freelance Aviation Journalist & Historian
Vienna, Austria

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Author:
Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988:
http://www.acig.org/pg1/content.php

Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...hp/title=S7875

Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...hp/title=S6585

African MiGs
http://www.acig.org/afmig/

Arab MiG-19 & MiG-21 Units in Combat
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/titl...=S6550~ser=COM

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