* Alexander Yakovlev's experimental design bureau (OKB in its Russianacronym) provided the Soviet Union with the excellent "Yak" piston-poweredfighters in World War II, and in the postwar period built a set of jetfighters evolved from their piston fighter designs that had brief servicelives, but allowed Soviet pilots to acquire experience with jet operation.The future of the Yak organization lay primarily with airliners andtransports.
However, the organization did make a major contribution to Cold War Red airpower, in the form of a series of supersonic twinjet combat aircraft, the"Yak-25" through "Yak-28", that were built in good numbers and served in awide range of roles -- including interceptor, reconnaissance platform,bomber, and countermeasures platform. This document provides a history anddescription of these Yak twinjets.
* In the late 1940s, following the Soviet development of a first generationof jet fighters such as the MiG-9 and Yak-15, the USSR began work on animproved second generation of fighters, the most prominent of which would bethe Mikoyan MiG-15 of Korean War fame. A parallel effort focused on thedevelopment of a twin-engine, two-seat, radar-equipped night / all-weatherinterceptor, defined by issue of a state requirement in early 1949. TheMikoyan OKB worked on the "I-320 Mark 2" -- the "I-320 Mark 1" was a more orless unrelated aircraft that never got out of the paper stage -- while theLavochkin OKB worked on the "La-200".
There were some similarities between the two machines, both being low-wingaircraft with all-swept flight surfaces and tricycle landing gear, powered bytwin Klimov RD-45 / VK-1 centrifugal flow turbojets (Soviet copies of theBritish Rolls-Royce Nene engine) arranged in tandem in the fuselage, withside-by-side canopies for pilot and radar operator, and Toriy (Thorium) radar-- later updated to improved Korshun (Kite Hawk) radar. The intake was inthe nose, with the I-320 Mark 2 featuring the radome in the upper intake lip;the first La-200 prototype featured the radome in the center of the intake,but the second moved it to the upper lip.
Their specifications were similar, not surprisingly since they both had thesame engines and similar kit. The I-320 Mark 2 had a span of 14.2 meters (46feet 7 inches), a length of 15.77 meters (51 feet 9 inches), and a normalloaded weight of 10,725 kilograms (23,645 pounds). The La-200 had a span of12.92 meters (42 feet 5 inches), a length of 16.59 meters (54 feet 5 inches),and a normal loaded weight of 10,375 kilograms (22,875 pounds). Both hadhigh subsonic performance and a range of about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles).
Both machines were also almost unarguably ugly: the Soviets werefunctionalists and not picky about appearances, but these machines werepushing the limit. The two aircraft went through state trials in 1950:1951,only to be rejected, apparently because of problems with the Toriy / Korshunradar and because the range specification had been raised considerably.
The engineers in the Yakovlev OKB felt they could meet the revisedrequirement using the new Mikulin AM-5 axial-flow turbojet and long-rangeRP-6 Sokol (Falcon) radar then in the works. They proposed a new design fora twin-engine, two-seat, long-range, night / all-weather interceptor; theauthorities liked the proposal, and in August 1951 authorized development ofthe type, to be given the OKB designation of "Yak-120". A tacticalphoto-reconnaissance variant, with the OKB designation of "Yak-125", was tobe developed as well. A variant of the La-200 with the Sokol radar, the"La-200B", was to be developed as a backup plan.
Initial flight of the first of seven Yak-120 prototypes (six flightprototypes and a static-test airframe) was on 19 June 1952, with OKB testpilot V.M. Volkov at the controls. The Yak-120 was ordered into productionas the "Yak-25" in late 1953, recycling the designation of a single-engineYak jet fighter that never reached production. The twinjet Yak-25 reachedoperational service with the Soviet national air-defense service, the PVO(Protivo-Vozdushnoy Oborony), in 1955.
Due to development delays with the Sokol radar, early Yak-25 productionfeatured the shorter-range RP-1 Izumrud radar; later production with theSokol radar was designated "Yak-25M", though in practice these machines weresimply referred to as Yak-25s. After its unveiling to the West in a flypastat the Tushino airshow in July 1955, the type was given the NATO reportingname of "Flashlight" -- later revised to "Flashlight-A" when new variantswere introduced.
As far as the La-200B was concerned, it was even uglier than the La-200, asif it were possible, with a big radome stuck in the nose, bracketed by threeengine intakes. It was clearly inferior to the Yak offering. The La-200Bended up being used as an avionics testbed.
BACK_TO_TOP* The Yak-25M was very different from the I-320 and La-200, with a roundednose for the big Sokol radar; a tandem-seat canopy; swept flight surfaces; anAM-5A engine in a nacelle mounted under each wing; and bicycle landing gear.Construction was mostly of aircraft aluminum alloy. The wings weremid-mounted, with a sweepback of 45 degrees at quarter-chord, an anhedraldroop of 5 degrees, twin spars, ailerons, two-section flaps, and two wingfences on each wing (the prototypes had a single fence on each wing) toprevent loss of airflow down the wing. The swept tail assembly's controlsurfaces were conventional; there was a ventral fin under the tail. Aileronsand elevators were hydraulically boosted, while the flaps were pneumaticallyactuated. There was a hydraulically actuated airbrake on each side of therear fuselage; the airbrakes were automatically deployed by the crew ejectionsequence.
All fuel storage was in the fuselage, using four bladder tanks. Eachnon-afterburning RD-5A / AM-5A engine provided 19.6 kN (2,000 kgp / 4,850lbf) thrust. Engine bleed was used for de-icing flight surfaces and engineinlets, though the engine centerbodies and intake foreign-object damageprotection screens featured electrical de-icing systems. The bicycle landinggear featured one wheel up front, two wheels in the rear, and a smalloutrigger on each wingtip that retracted into a fairing. All the landinggear were pneumatically actuated and retracted backwards.
The aircrew sat on ejection seats under a long single-piece canopy that slidback to open. The windscreen featured armored glass, the seat backs andheadrests were armored, and there were front and side cockpit armor plates aswell. The cockpit was pressurized and climate conditioned. The radaroperator's position included flight controls, allowing the back-seater totake over and spell the pilot when needed. Avionics featured standard kitsuch as identification friend or foe (IFF) unit, radio, intercom, andautopilot; but also relatively sophisticated navigational gear, useful for along-range / night / all weather aircraft, including an automatic directionfinder unit, a marker beacon receiver, a radar altimeter, and instrumentlanding system.
The RP-6 Sokol radar was the centerpiece of the avionics suite. The Sokolhad a range of 30 kilometers (18 miles) and good low-altitude capability.Russian sources claim it had a "look down" capability, able to see throughground-return "clutter", but that would be an impressive capability for aradar of that era. It seems more likely that it had a narrow beam thatallowed the radar to operate relatively close to the ground without pickingup a clutter return -- with this impression enhanced by the fact that theradar would prove in service easily jammed by chaff or active radio jammers,implying little ability to screen out clutter. The radar operator viewed theradar display through a hood.
Armament consisted of twin Nudelman N-37L 37-millimeter automatic cannon,with a normal ammunition load of 50 rounds per gun. A conformal externalfuel tank could be carried on the centerline.
___________________________________________________________________ YAKOVLEV YAK-25 "FLASHLIGHT-A": ___________________________________________________________________ wingspan: 11 meters (36 feet) wing area: 28.94 sq_meters (311.2 sq_feet) length: 15.7 meters (51 feet 4 inches) height: 3.8 meters (12 feet 6 inches) empty weight: 5,675 kilograms (12,500 pounds) take-off weight: 10,045 kilograms (22,145 pounds) maximum speed: 1,015 KPH (630 MPH / 550 KT) service ceiling: 15,000 meters (49,200 feet) range, no tanks: 2,100 kilometers (1,305 MI / 1,135 NMI) ___________________________________________________________________
480 Yak-25s were built into 1957, including the prototypes. In service, manyYak-25s were later fitted with the Gorizont-1 (Horizon-1) ground-controlledintercept (GCI) datalink system, with these machines sometimes given thedesignation of "Yak-25MG".
The Yak-25 normally flew in natural metal colors. It was well outnumbered inPVO service by the Mikoyan MiG-17P single-seat interceptor, it seems mostlybecause the MiG-17P was substantially cheaper than the big Yak-25. TheYak-25 was generally regarded as capable, reliable, and pleasant to fly --agile for such a relatively large aircraft, and with good engine-outhandling. The low-slung engines did mean that "foreign object damage (FOD)"was a real problem, even though intake screens were fitted, and runways usedfor Yak-25 operations had to be kept clean of debris.
Due to its size and good flying characteristics, the Yak-25 was alsowell-suited to service as a testbed, sometimes under the designation of"Yak-25L" or "Yak-25LL", where "LL" meant "Letayushchaya Laboratoriya(Flying Laboratory)" -- a general suffix often applied to testbed aircraft.Such conversions included ejection-seat testbeds, de-icing system testplatforms, and engine testbeds.
Several Yak-25s were converted to carry four K-5 / RS-1-U beam-ridingair-to-air missiles (AAM), NATO reporting name "AA-1 Alkali", with twomissile pylons under each wing, inboard of the engine; these aircraft werefitted with RP-1-U Izumrud radar to guide the AAMs. In principle, these wereservice machines, designated "Yak-25K", but in practice, they were weaponstestbeds. Yak-25Ks were produced by modification to test other AAMs, such asthe K-8 (NATO "AA-3 Anab"), but it doesn't seem that any Flashlight evercarried AAMs operationally.
The Yak-25 remained in service with the PVO into the late 1960s. It wasnever operated by the air arms of any other nation; none of the Yak twinjetcombat aircraft were. Combat action of the Flashlight was limited to theoccasional intercept of intruders into Soviet airspace. This was a commonsort of thing during the Cold War; it is unclear if any Yak-25 ever firedshots in anger. After their firstline service, many Yak-25s were convertedinto radio-controlled target drones, with the designation of "Yak-25M" or"Yak-25Msh", where "M" stood for "Mischen (Target)". The first conversionswere performed in the late 1950s. It is unclear when the last of the Yak-25targets were expended.
BACK_TO_TOP* Late in the Yak-25's production life, the Yak OKB was tasked with thedevelopment of a high altitude, long range strategic reconnaissance aircraftbased on the Flashlight, to be designated the "Yak-25RV", where "RV" stoodfor "Razvedchik Visotniy (Reconnaissance, High Altitude)". Initial flight ofthe prototype was on 1 March 1959, with test pilot V.P. Smirnov at thecontrols. Once NATO got wind of the type, it was assigned the reporting nameof "Mandrake".
The Yak-25RV was so heavily modified from the basic Yak-25 that it seemsplausible the Yak-25 designation was retained partly as a cover. The onlything the Yak-25RV retained from the Yak-25 was the rear fuselage; itfeatured a new forward fuselage, with a single-seat cockpit and a solidcamera nose. Cameras were also fitted into the belly of the aircraft.
The wings were straight and long, with a span of 23.5 meters (77 feet 1inch), and no wing fences -- they weren't needed on a straight wing. ATumanskiy R-11V-300 turbojet was fitted under each wing. The R-11V-300 was anon-afterburning, high altitude version of the R-11 engine used on theMikoyan MiG-21, and had a maximum thrust of 39.2 kN (4,000 kgp / 8,820 lbf).The tailfin was modified, with a larger forward fin fillet. The wingtipoutriggers retracted forward, not backwards as they did on the Flashlight.The Yak-25RV was unarmed.
___________________________________________________________________ YAKOVLEV YAK-25RV "MANDRAKE": ___________________________________________________________________ wingspan: 23.5 meters (77 feet 1 inch) wing area: 55 sq_meters (591.3 sq_feet) length: 15.93 meters (52 feet 3 inches) height: 3.8 meters (12 feet 6 inches) empty weight: 6,175 kilograms (13,615 pounds) take-off weight: 9,800 kilograms (21,600 pounds) maximum speed: 965 KPH (600 MPH / 520 KT) service ceiling: 21,000 meters (68,900 feet) range, no tanks: 2,100 kilometers (1,305 miles / 1,135 NMI) ___________________________________________________________________
The VVS (Voyenno Vozdushniye Sily / Red Air Force) found the design adequate,and it was ordered into production in 1961. Details remained mysterious inthe West for some time. One set a world altitude record of 20,174 meters(66,187 feet) on 29 July 1964, with V.P. Smirnov at the controls. Theaircraft was described simply as the "RV" in the paperwork for the FederationAeronautique Internationale (FAI), the logging authority for aeronauticalrecords.
74 Yak-25RVs were built, including a small number that lacked reconnaissancegear and were used by Soviet air defenses to practice high-altitudeintercepts, in hopes of figuring out how to shoot down high-flying Westernintruders like US Lockheed U-2 spyplanes. These Mandrakes were given thedesignation of "Yak-25RV-1"; they could also be fitted with radio control, toallow them to be used as live-fire targets. A batch of 81 radio-controlleddrone targets was also built new, with these machines given the designationof "Yak-25RV-2". All Yak-25RV production was complete by 1965.
The Yak-25RV remained in first-line service with the VVS into the early1970s. Pictures seem to imply that it normally flew in natural metal colors,though black or very dark blue is arguably a better color for high-altitudeoperations. It is known to have performed overflights of Pakistan, India,China, and northern Japan. It is not known to have performed any overflightsof Western Europe, possibly because air defenses would have been too much forit.
In the late 1960s, a handful of Yak-25RVs were configured for the "radiationreconnaissance" mission, to be redesignated "Yak-25RR", where "RR"unsurprisingly stood for "Radiatsionniy Razvedchik (RadiationReconnaissance)". They were fitted with underwing pylons to carry twostandard radiation sampling pods, which contained paper filters to trapfallout particles from the atmosphere.
In the early 1970s, a few Yak-25RVs were modified as signals intelligence(SIGINT) platforms and designated "Yak-25RRV", where "RRV" stood for"Radioteknichevskiy Razvedchik Vysotny (Radio Signals Reconnaissance, HighAltitude)". They were very similar to the Yak-25RR, with two underwingpylons, in this case carrying Volna-S (Wave-S) SIGINT pods.
There was also a scheme floated in the early 1970s to use a version of theYak-25RV to shoot down balloons. During the 1950s, the US attempted to usehigh-altitude balloons to perform reconnaissance overflights of the SovietUnion. According to American sources, this was done for a few months inearly 1955, using hundreds of balloons, with a single follow-on effort in1958 with three very large balloons. The two efforts were embarrassingfailures -- the second exercise had been performed in violation of a directorder from US President Eisenhower, and he was furious. The US gave it up,but Russian sources insist that reconnaissance balloon overflights continuedthrough the 1970s. Whatever the facts behind this puzzle, the ballooninterceptor program was canceled without flight of a prototype.
BACK_TO_TOP* The introduction of the Yak-25 led to a series of efforts to improve thebreed and adapt it to other roles, with this work having a tendency to rundown blind alleys.
As noted, the initial state authorization for the development of what wouldbecome the Yak-25 also envisioned a tactical reconnaissance variant, theYak-125, and a prototype was duly flown for the first time, by Volkov again,on 26 August 1952. The Yak-125 looked very much like the Yak-25, evenretaining the rounded nose, though the nose was made of metal and carriedcameras, not radar. The twin N-37L cannon were swapped for a singleNudelman-Richter NR-23 23-millimeter cannon with 80 rounds. The back-seater,in this case a "reconnaissance systems operator (RSO)", had a periscopicsight and a small window in the floor to help target the cameras.
Performance was good enough to persuade the authorities to sponsor furtherdevelopment. The main problem with the Yak-125, as it stood, was that sitingthe RSO in the rear cockpit was unsatisfactory, not granting him a properfield of view of the terrain. Work was performed to provide a redesigned"glass nose" for the RSO, with ten "Yak-25R" machines built in 1955.However, that was the end of it, since both technology and requirements wereevolving rapidly at the time. Interest moved on to something better; the VVScould get by with the Ilyushin Il-28R "Beagle" for reconnaissance in themeantime.
Development of the glass-nosed Yak-25R was paralleled by work on anexternally similar tactical nuclear strike aircraft, the "Yak-125B", where"B" stood for "Bombardirovshchik (Bomber)". Along with a reconfigured nose,the main landing gear was modified, with a larger twin-wheel nose gear thatretracted forward, and a longer wheelbase. Flight tests of the singleprototype were in 1955, with the aircraft fitted with an RMM-2 Rubidy(Rubidium) targeting radar in a small radome in the belly below the cockpit.As with the Yak-25R, more advanced technology was becoming available andthere was no interest in pursuing the Yak-125B as it was.
The Red Navy also became interested in using the Yak-25 as the basis fora reconnaissance platform, with the "Yak-25MR" prototype, where "MR" stood for "Morskoy Razvedchik (Maritime Reconnaissance)", flying in 1955. This machineretained much the configuration of the Flashlight interceptor, with thetandem-seat configuration and nose radome, but in this case the radomecontained maritime surveillance radar, and the machine featured provisionsfor vertical and oblique cameras. One N-37L cannon was retained. Onceagain, the Yak-25MR was left behind by improved technology, and the exercisewent nowhere.
* One of the driving forces in the search for something better was theavailability of new, more powerful engines. A prototype for an improvedFlashlight interceptor was flown in 1955, being fitted with afterburningMikulin AM-9A / RD-9A engines like those used on the Mikoyan MiG-19,providing 26.0 kN (2,650 kgp / 5,840 lbf) max dry thrust and 31.9 kN (3,250kgp / 7,165 lbf) afterburning thrust. This machine was given the designationof "Yak-120M"; a production machine was to feature improved Sokol-M radar andfuselage-mounted unguided rocket packs to complement cannon armament, withthe twin NS-37 cannon replaced by twin Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 23-millimetercannon.
The Yak-120M was a nonstarter, too, but interest in a Yak-25 derivativepowered by RD-9 series engines persisted. In the same year, the Yak OKB flewa prototype of a supersonic-capable tactical nuclear bomber derivative,designated the "Yak-123". It originally featured Mikulin RD-9AK afterburningturbojet engines, with similar thrust ratings to the AM-9As used on theYak-120M, with the RD-9AK engines later upgraded to more powerful RD-9Fengines. It also featured:
Flight test of the initial "Yak-123-1" prototype, without radar and the tailbarbette, demonstrated supersonic performance, but handling suffered fromsome problems. The worst was that at high speeds, the thin wings flexed toomuch, resulting in "aileron reversal" -- that is, trying to roll the aircraftin one direction perversely resulted in a roll in the other direction.
The design did seem promising and a second prototype, which wasoptimistically given a "service-oriented" designation of "Yak-26-3", wasrolled out in 1956 -- apparently the "Yak-123-2 / Yak-26-2" was a nonflyingstatic-test prototype. The Yak-26-3 featured the uprated RD-9F engines,with 27.0 kN (2,750 kgp / 6,060 lbf) max dry thrust and 37.3 kN (3,800 kgp /8,380 lbf) afterburning thrust, and included the tail barbette. The featuresof both prototypes were substantially tweaked during the course of the testprogram, for example with the nose glazing scheme improved; the tail barbetteeliminated since it had proven useless; and in particular improvements to thewings. Construction of a batch of ten preproduction aircraft was authorized.
In the meantime, the Yak OKB was also working on an externally similarreconnaissance variant, the "Yak-122", with a single prototype flown in 1955;and a supersonic interceptor variant, originally designated "Yak-121" butthen given the designation of "Yak-27". The Yak-27 was to feature RD-9Fengines and two subvariants were to be built, including a cannon-armed"Yak-27P", where "P" stood for "Perekhvatchik (Interceptor)", and a "Yak-27K"with K-8 / AA-3 Anab AAMs; they retained the single-wheel nosegear andshorter wheelbase of the Yak-25. Two initial prototypes of the Yak-27 wereflown in 1956, leading to production of a batch of evaluation aircraft. OneYak-27 was flown in 1957 and 1958 with a Dushkin liquid-fuel rocket boosterfitted to the tail and designated "Yak-27V"; it had a great rate of climb,but it never went beyond the experimental stage.
The Yak-26 and Yak-27 performed a flypast at Tushino in the summer of 1956,with NATO assigning them the reporting names "Flashlight-B" (an odddesignation, given that the nose glazing suggested a bomber or reconnaissanceaircraft, not an "F" for "Fighter" type) and "Flashlight-C" respectively. Infact, neither entered service -- yet again, they were left behind by improvedconcepts.
However, the prototype for the Yak-122 reconnaissance aircraft was upgradedto a new configuration as the "Yak-27R", with such features as revised noseglazing and improved wings, and it did enter service, with 180 productionmachines built. It performed a flypast at Tushino in 1961 and was given theNATO reporting name of "Mangrove".
The Yak-27R featured RD-9F engines and a single NR-23 23-millimeter cannon,complementing its payload of film cameras. The wing featured leading edgeroot extensions, a dogtoothed outer wing, and a single fence on the outboardwing. The wingtips were extended but the outrigger landing gear wasn't,which placed it a short distance back from the wingtips. A blunt-nosed"slipper" type external tank could be fitted under each wing. The Mangroveretained the single-wheel nose gear and the shorter wheelbase of the Yak-25.
A few Yak-27Rs were used in trials, for example one being fitted with acombination wheel / ski landing gear for operations in snowy climates. TheYak-27R remained in VVS service into the 1970s, normally flying in naturalmetal colors. Its career was undistinguished, and it seems in hindsight likea modest accomplishment, given the bewildering amount of effort put intoYak-26 / Yak-27 development -- but all that work would lead to a next stepwith a bigger payoff.
BACK_TO_TOP* The RD-9F was by no means the last word in Soviet jet engine technology inthe 1950s, and in fact even as it was going into operational service it wasbeing outpaced by more powerful engines. The availability of one suchimproved engine, the Tumanskiy R-11-300 afterburning turbojet -- like thatused on the MiG-21, and of the same family as the engine of the Yak-25RVMangrove -- led to issue of a directive to the Yak OKB to build a tacticalbomber along the lines of the Yak-26 using such new engines. The new machinewas given the OKB designation of "Yak-129".
The modified "pointy nose" fuselage developed for the Yak-26 seemed like agood starting place for the Yak-129, with some modifications required, butthe wing arrangement needed to be seriously re-thought. One problem was thefact that the R-11-300 engine was physically bigger than the RD-9F, leadingto a clearance problem. The solution was to move the mid-mounted wing to ahigh-mounted position. The wing also had to be redesigned to permit higherspeeds, with the new wing featuring a 45-degree sweepback at mid-chord, aswell as a dogtooth and wingtip extensions as with the Yak-27R. The flapswere updated to a "Fowler" configuration, meaning they extended well behindthe wing, making them more effective.
Three prototypes were built, the first two being rebuilds of Yak-26 machines.The initial prototype performed its first flight on 5 March 1958, with Volkovat the controls. The other two prototypes, which were assigned the servicedesignation of "Yak-28", followed later in the year. Although OKB GeneralDesigner Alexander S. Yakovlev had not been very confident in the Yak-129,having been soured by the difficulties with the Yak-26 and Yak-27 developmentprograms, performance was impressive and he became much more enthusiastic.Unfortunately, initial state trials resulted in a long list of complaints,though one of the big ones, the immaturity of the R-11-300 engines, washardly the Yak OKB's fault.
The Yak-28 seemed promising enough to make fixing the bugs worthwhile,particularly since the VVS was desperate to obtain a supersonic tacticalbomber, those being the days when subsonic performance was regarded as almostunacceptable. It was quickly approved for production, as the "Yak-28B", withthe type performing a public fly-over at Tushino in 1961. It was assignedthe NATO reporting name of "Brewer", which later became "Brewer-A" when othervariants were observed.
* The Yak-28B was clearly a descendant of the Yak-25, but the evolution ofthe type meant there was very little in common between the two machinesexcept for the general arrangement. The entirely new wings, engines, andengine nacelles have already been mentioned; the dogtooth wings weredistinctive, as were the big engine nacelles, which had oval inlets with aprominent inlet bullet. Each of the Tumanskiy R-11AF-300 turbojets provided56.4 kN (5,750 kgp / 12,676 lbf) afterburning thrust.
There was some commonality with the Yak-25 in the fuselage and tail, butthere were many changes, such as the single-seat cockpit, with a back-slidingcanopy, and the glass "pointy nose" for the bombardier. The Yak-28B alsofeatured the twin-wheel nosegear and longer wheelbase, a brake parachute,and provisions for two rocket-assisted take-off (RATO) boosters. Airbrakeswere deleted.
The twin NR-37 cannon were replaced by a single 23-millimeter cannon on theright side, with an ammunition store of 50 rounds. In initial production,the weapon was a Nudelman-Richter NR-23 cannon, but in later production itwas replaced by a Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23Ya cannon. The GSh-23Ya was aningenious twin-barrel design, with the recoil of one barrel "charging" theother barrel in a "teeter-totter" fashion, providing a high rate of fire of3,600 rounds per minute, compared to a maximum of 950 rounds per minute forthe NR-23. It was originally a German design, but the Germans lost the warbefore they could put it into production, and the Soviets picked it up.
Normal bombload was 1,200 kilograms (2,645 pounds), though a 3,000-pound(6,600-pound) bomb could be carried in overload condition. All munitionswere carried in an internal bomb bay, which was climate-conditioned to permitcarriage of nuclear weapons. Typical weapons loads included a 1,200-kilogramtactical nuclear weapon; a single 3,000-kilogram (6,600-pound) or1,500-kilogram (3,300-pound) general purpose (GP) high explosive bomb; two500-kilogram (1,100-pound) GP, incendiary, or cluster bombs; four250-kilogram (550-pound) HE or cluster bombs; or eight 120-kilogram(265-pound) GP bombs.
The Yak-28B could carry a 1,000-liter (264 US gallon) slipper tank on eachwing. The aircraft was fitted with an RBP-3 bombing radar in a radome on thebelly below the rear of the cockpit. The RBP-3 was linked to the aircraft'sautopilot to permit automatic attacks. Of course, an optical bombsight wasretained. Total production quantities of the Yak-28B are unclear.
* In parallel with the Yak-28B, a "Yak-28L" variant was produced that deletedthe targeting radar, replacing it with a "DBS-2S Lotos (Lotus)" (hence the"L" suffix) datalink bombing system. The Lotos system involved two mobileground stations that could direct the Yak-28L to perform precision attacks inany weather, day or night.
The Yak-28L also featured uprated R-11AF2-300 turbojets, with 60.8 kN (6,200kgp / 13,670 lbf) afterburning thrust each, as well as a fully variableexhaust nozzle, instead of the two-position nozzle used on the R-11AF-300.The uprated engines required modifications to the engine nacelles, with largecircular inlets replacing the oval inlets of the Yak-28B. Larger slippertanks, with a capacity of 1,050 liters (277 US gallons) were also introduced.The Yak-28L was assigned the NATO reporting name of "Brewer-B". It was notparticularly popular, with only about 111 built. The Lotos system, withits dependence on mobile ground stations, was too complicated, and it wasalso vulnerable to jamming.
A third bomber variant, the "Yak-28I", featured an improved bombing radar,the "Initsiava-2 (Initiative-2)", hence the "I" suffix, with longer range andbetter resolution than the RPB-3 radar. The new radar was fitted into aslightly larger and reprofiled radome. The Yak-28I also featured the upratedR-11AF2-300 engines in the modified nacelles, and the other minor tweaksfeatured on the Yak-28L. The Yak-28I was assigned the NATO reporting name of"Brewer-C".
___________________________________________________________________ YAKOVLEV YAK-28I "BREWER-C": ___________________________________________________________________ wingspan: 11.6 meters (38 feet 2 inches) wing area: 35.25 sq_meters (379.03 sq_feet) length: 20.2 meters (66 feet 3 inches) height: 4.3 meters (14 feet 1 inch) loaded weight: 16,160 kilograms (35,625 pounds) max speed (clean): 1,850 KPH (1,150 MPH / 1,000 NT) service ceiling: 14,500 meters (47,570 feet) range with tanks: 2,070 kilometers (1,285 MI / 1,120 NMI) ___________________________________________________________________
The Initsiava radar took a while to be persuaded to work properly, but theBrewer-C was built in good numbers, with about 223 produced. One wasexperimentally modified in 1969 with four underwing stores pylons to carryrocket pods or other munitions, being redesignated "Yak-28IM", with the "M"standing either for "Modifitzirovanniy (Modified)" or "Modernizirovanniy(Modernized)". The Yak-28IM was evaluated for a few years, but the schemewas not adopted for service, the Brewer bombers clearly having a limitedfuture by that time.
BACK_TO_TOP* The three bomber variants weren't the whole story for the Brewer. Being ahot machine, there were worries that pilots converting to the Yak-28 mightfind it a handful, and so a two-seat conversion trainer, the "Yak-28U" --where "U" stood for "Ubchebniy (training)" -- was produced.
The prototype was rolled out in 1962, with the type quickly going intoservice. It was basically a Yak-28B, with the R-11AF-300 engines andelliptical inlets -- since the Yak-28U wasn't meant for combat service, thelower-rated engines were judged satisfactory -- and a new nose thateliminated the bombardier's glazing and contained a second, independentcockpit for the flight instructor. The canopy of the nose cockpit hingedopen to the right.
The cannon and radar were deleted. The bomb bay was retained, though it wasfitted with a fuel tank. The Yak-28U was assigned the NATO reporting name of"Maestro", the "M" name indicating a "Miscellaneous" type. Total productionwas 183 aircraft.
* Of course a reconnaissance version, the "Yak-28R", was built, with theprototype rolled out in 1963 and the variant going into service in 1966. TheYak-28R was basically a Yak-28I, with the uprated R-11AF2-300 engines and an"Initsiava-2R" radar optimized for reconnaissance mission. Changes included:
There were sets of camera ports on the belly for the reconnaissance gear.The bomb bay was retained for carriage of photoflash flares, but the cannonwas deleted.
A total of 183 Yak-28Rs was built, including subvariants. The type wasassigned the NATO reporting name of "Brewer-D". There were a number ofmodifications and subvariants of the Yak-28R:
* In the mid-1960s, one Yak-28L was converted to a "defense suppression" --or, as the Americans would say, "Wild Weasel" -- configuration, fitted forcarriage of two Kh-28 (NATO AS-9 Kyle) anti-radar missiles in place of thewing tanks, with the bombing system replaced by a radar homing and warningsystem (RHAWS) to target radars. This machine was designated "Yak-28N",where "N" stood for "Nositel (Carrier)", meaning "missile carrier". Theconclusion of the exercise was that a more modern machine was needed for thetough defense suppression mission, and the Mikoyan MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F" wasobtained for that role instead.
In roughly the same timeframe, another Yak-28I was modified as a radarreconnaissance machine, carrying a "Bulat (Damask Steel)" side-lookingairborne radar (SLAR) in the bomb bay, with the SLAR antenna deployed out ofthe bomb bay when observations were to be made. This machine was redesignated"Yak-28BI". It also was not adopted for service.
However, an electronic countermeasures variant, the "Yak-28PP", where "PP"stood for "Postanovshchik Pomekh (Countermeasures Aircraft)", did go intoservice. The Yak-28PP was developed in the late 1960s and entered productionin 1970. It was something of a hybrid, with the cockpit and canopy of theYak-28R, but the nose glazing of the Yak-28L; exactly why a countermeasuresaircraft needed nose glazing is an interesting little question.
The Yak-28PP was fitted with the uprated R-11AF2-300 engines, and was crammedfull of countermeasures gear, leading to a clutter of antenna fairings overthe fuselage. The Yak-28PP was unarmed, but it could carry a pod of57-millimeter rockets on each outer wing, with the rockets carrying warheadsfull of chaff to blind adversary radars; the aircraft was also fitted withchaff-flare dispensers for self-defense. The Yak-28PP was designed toaccompany attack aircraft as they penetrated hostile airspace, using itsjammers and chaff rockets to protect the strike package. Total production ofthe Yak-28PP is unclear.
* As mentioned, the Brewer series was rushed into service to give the VVS asupersonic strike capability. To no great surprise, at the outsetreliability, particularly of the engines, was nothing to write home about.The Brewer was a more complicated machine than the previous generation ofSoviet aircraft, with the result that manufacturing and maintenance werestrained accordingly. The worst problems were fixed in time, but the typewould never achieve the "shovel sturdiness" of the best Soviet gear, and theaccident rate would be high -- though in maturity, the accidents were usuallydue to pilot error or failure to perform proper maintenance, the machinebeing unforgiving of either.
The Brewer was not a particularly friendly aircraft to fly; it was a highperformance machine, and though the old Flashlight had good single-enginehandling, the Brewer was less docile and used much more powerful engines;it was a nasty handful with an engine out. Few pilots could expect tohandle the Brewer safely without familiarization in the Maestro trainer. Itssupersonic range was short, and the bicycle landing gear configuration madeloading it up with bombs laborious.
There were VVS pilots who really preferred the old, rugged, reliable Il-28Beagle for the low-level attack role. However, the blazing performance ofthe Brewer was liked -- few pilots find flying a hot aircraft entirelydisagreeable, as long as the thing isn't a deathtrap -- and VVS crews didlearn some affection for the type, while acknowledging that it was ademanding mistress. It was nicknamed "Raschoska (Comb)", because with wingtanks it had a distinctly "toothy" appearance from below.
Brewers originally flew in natural metal colors, but later they featureddisruptive camouflage schemes, which were applied in a few cases to theMaestro trainers even though they had no real operational capability. Brewerbombers participated in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, but droppedno bombs.
The only actual strikes performed by any of the Brewer bombers were on 9November 1975 -- against Soviet shipping. The crew of a Red Navy frigateoperating in the Baltic, the STOROZEVHOY, had mutinied the day before, andthe authorities ordered the vessel sunk before it could reach neutral port inSweden. Some officials were so vexed that they wanted the frigateobliterated with a tactical nuclear weapon, but they were overruled by calmerheads. Although the weather was lousy, a Yak-28B found the ship and droppedtwo 250-kilogram (550-pound) HE bombs behind its stern, persuading the crewto surrender.
The weather was so poor that another Yak-28B hit a Soviet bulk cargo carrierby mistake; another attacked the cutter belonging to the commander of theSoviet Baltic fleet, but missed. The attack on the cargo carrier fortunatelydidn't result in any fatalities, and the Red Navy compensated the shippingorganization for the damage -- while also providing a few cans of pure grainalcohol to the crew as an apology.
The bomber Brewers were replaced by the Sukhoi Su-24 "Fencer" beginning inthe mid-1970s, but the Yak-28R reconnaissance aircraft and the Yak-28PPcountermeasures aircraft soldiered on. The Yak-28R was the only Brewer tosee any real war service, flying reconnaissance missions in border clasheswith the Red Chinese in 1969, and over Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Yak-28Rwas generally out of service by the end of the 1980s, but the Yak-28PP, whichwas an integral component of VVS strike doctrine, lingered on into themid-1990s, after the fall of the USSR.
BACK_TO_TOP* The Brewer series evolved from an interceptor, the Yak-25, and evolved backinto an interceptor again. In 1960, the Yak OKB was tasked with thedevelopment of a Yak-28 interceptor variant, designated the "Yak-28P". Thetype entered operational service with the PVO in 1964. The West didn't get agood look at the Yak-28P until 1967; it was then given the abstract NATOreporting name of "Firebar".
The Yak-28P was a fairly straightforward adaptation of the Brewer, withchanges including a tandem two-seat cockpit under a single back-slidingcanopy, featuring dual controls for familiarization, or to allow the weaponsystem operator in the back seat to spell the pilot; an Oryel-D (Eagle-D /NATO "Skip Spin") long-range fire control radar in a nose radome; and a Lazur(Prussian Blue) GCI datalink.
Armament was of course completely different, initially consisting of twoR-8M-1 / AA-3 Anab AAMs, with one carried on each outer wing in place of thewing tank; additional fuel storage was placed in the fuselage, where thebomb bay had been on the Brewer. There was no cannon armament. Later on, asmall pylon was added on each outer wing for an R-3S / K-13M1 (NATO AA-2Advanced Atoll / Sidewinder clone) short-range heat-seeking AAM, upping themissile armament from two to four. Early trials had fitted a pylon for anR-3S AAM inboard of each engine, but this arrangement led to rocket exhaustingestion problems with the engines.
Although prototypes featured the R-11AF-300 engine, production machines usedthe uprated R-11AF2-300 engine. Early production had a short radome; laterproduction had a longer, more sharply pointed radome that improvedaerodynamics and gave the machine a more dartlike appearance.
___________________________________________________________________ YAKOVLEV YAK-28P "FIREBAR": ___________________________________________________________________ wingspan: 11.6 meters (38 feet 2 inches) wing area: 35.25 sq_meters (379.03 sq_feet) length (late production machines with long radome): 20.6 meters (67 feet 9 inches) height: 4.3 meters (14 feet 1 inch) loaded weight: 16,400 kilograms (36,155 pounds) max speed (clean): 1,840 KPH (1,145 MPH / 995 NT) service ceiling: 16,000 meters (52,500 feet) range: 2,150 kilometers (1,335 MI / 1,160 NMI) ___________________________________________________________________
435 Firebars were built in all up to 1967. The Yak-28P was an importantasset of the PVO through the 1960s, normally flying in natural metal colors.It suffered from some of the reliability problems -- and the high accidentrate -- that afflicted the Brewer, and it seems pilots were not always sohappy with it: bomber pilots moving up from the Il-28 Beagle might havethought the Brewer a hot machine, but pilots of single-seat fighters going tothe big Firebar saw it as something of a demotion. Throwing the Yak-28Paround in aggressive maneuvers was strictly forbidden by PVO regulations.
The Yak-28P never saw any combat action. One did get into an aggressive butbloodless dogfight over the Baltic with a US-built McDonnell F-4 Phantom,apparently a Luftwaffe machine, but after an extended session of jinking,climbing, diving, with a second Firebar joining the fray, everybody ran lowon fuel and had to go home. It is unclear if this incident was due to mutualhostility or had an element of sport to it -- maybe it was both.
The only aircraft a Firebar was ever known to have shot down in anger, or atleast helped to shoot down, was a Soviet machine, an Antonov An-2 utilitybiplane that a defector tried to fly over the Black Sea to Turkey on 13 March1967. The An-2 didn't have much of a heat signature and was flying very lowover the waves; the Firebar crew wasn't able to get a good missile lock, butthe interceptor was able to use its long-range radar to guide a MiG-17 to thetarget, which then blasted the biplane into the sea with cannon fire. TheSoviets took a brutally dim view of traitors, and doing in the defectorwasn't an issue -- but the An-2 "Annushka" was generally regarded withaffection, and it was something of a pity to destroy one.
* The phaseout of the Yak-28P began in the late 1960s, but stretched outthrough the next decade, with the last of them removed from PVO service inthe early 1980s.
There were a number of experimental modifications of the Yak-28P, including amachine with "blown flaps"; various engine and AAM trials platforms; and onewith a liquid-fuel booster rocket in the tail, designated "Yak-28URP". Therewas also an attempt in 1964 to develop a successor to the Firebar, designatedthe "Yak-28-64".
The Yak-28-64 was developed in competition with the Sukhoi Su-15 "Flagon" andincorporated some of the Su-15's design features. The R-11F2-300 engineswere removed from the wing nacelles and placed in the fuselage, usingrectangular intakes with splitter plates. The single ventral fin wasreplaced by twin ventral fins, and a drop tank could be carried under eachengine. Flight tests began in 1966 but they didn't last long, since theYak-28-64 was obviously a dog: performance was poor, and the type sufferedfrom a number of unpleasant handling faults. The Su-15 was clearly superiorand the Yak-28-64 effort was quickly abandoned.
The Yakovlev OKB never flew another fighter, not counting the notoriousYak-38 "Forger" vertical take-off (VTOL) fighter, said to be so unpleasant tofly that pilots would go on the sicklist rather than get into it; and themuch better Yak-41 "Freestyle" VTOL fighter, which never went intoproduction. The OKB did conduct a series of design studies, in particularfor Soviet efforts in the early 1970s to develop a new "lightweight fighter"and a new "heavyweight fighter". The Yak offerings consisted of thelightweight "Yak-45" and the heavyweight "Yak-47", which were very similarconfigurationally, featuring twin engines and with something of a designflavor of the earlier Yak twinjet fighters. The requirements were actuallymet by the lightweight Mikoyan MiG-29 and the heavyweight Sukhoi Su-27.
BACK_TO_TOP* The following list provides a summary of the Yak-25 through Yak-28:
* Sources include:
* Revision history:
v1.0.0 / 01 nov 05 v1.0.1 / 01 nov 07 / Review & polish. v1.0.2 / 01 oct 09 / Review & polish. v1.0.3 / 01 sep 11 / Review & polish. v1.0.4 / 01 aug 13 / Review & polish. v1.0.5 / 01 jul 15 / Review & polish. v1.0.6 / 01 jun 17 / Review & polish. v1.0.7 / 01 may 19 / Review & polish. v1.0.8 / 01 mar 21 / Review & polish. v1.1.0 / 01 jan 23 / Format change. v1.1.1 / 01 dec 24 / Review & polish. (**)BACK_TO_TOP
