On the eve of his 70th birthday, the Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation, Hero of Russia, retired Major General Magomed Tolboev told TASS about the most promising modern military aircraft and the MAKS-2021 air show
Magomed Omarovich is one of the founders of the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS), and has been its Honorary President since 1997. During the flight test work, he mastered more than 50 types and modifications of aircraft, including MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-24 and Su-27 fighters, several types of ultralight and experimental aircraft, made two successful emergency landings of fighters with a non-working engine,and one with a destroyed tail. In 1976, the pilot ejected from an unguided MiG-15UTI, and in the mid-1980s, he participated in the Energia - Buran space program and completed a full course of training for manned flights on a reusable spacecraft.
The best in the world
Tolboev considers the MiG-31B with an air refueling system and the MiG-31BM, which were created at the Nizhny Novgorod Sokol Aircraft Plant (a branch of the MiG Corporation), to be the most promising military aircraft of the country and the world. "Now at the top of the mountain of interceptors in the world - the MiG-31B and MiG-31BM-these are the aircraft that protect our borders. Four aircraft at a distance of 200 km between each other can ensure the closure of the northern polar latitudes for 800 km, " he said.
According to Tolboev, other countries do not have anything like this, the Russian aviation industry is the best in the world in terms of combat.
MiG-31BM Fighter-interceptor
Image source: © Yuri Smityuk/TASS
Magomed Tolboev says that this fact is a personal achievement of the Minister of defence of Russia Sergey Shoigu. "Sergey Kuzhugetovich is one of the greatest people of modern Russia. He restored everything in Ulyanovsk. This is a huge territory where the AN-124 "Ruslan"aircraft were supposed to be produced. He restored it, and IL-76, and IL-78, " - said the pilot.
In addition, Tolboev also praised the latest Su-57-an aircraft that the Defense Ministry attaches great importance to. It has a supersonic cruising speed, an internal fuselage armament, a radio-absorbing coating (stealth technology), as well as the latest complex of onboard equipment. It is expected that by 2028, our combat aviation will receive 76 such machines.
"This is a great plane. Su-57-continuation of the project 1.44 (experimental prototype of the fifth-generation fighter, created by the RSC " MiG " in the 1980-90-ies-approx. TASS) and other versions. It is still in the OKB of them. Mikoyan was started," he said.
At the same time, it is incorrect to compare the Su-57 with its main competitor - the American Raptor fighter-bomber, as some media often do, Tolboev believes.
"The Su-57 will easily kill him if they meet one - on-one. The F-35 does not know how to maneuver, it does not have this. But it does have electronic power. What is it? If there's an explosion in the sun tomorrow, then nothing works. Therefore, I am an opponent of all electronic cases. We must be prepared to fight as man to man, man to man. Like knights in a tournament, " the test pilot explained.
Su-57 fighter jet
Image source: © Marina Lystseva/TASS
However, the days of such battles are long gone. "Now is not the time to fight one - on-one. It all depends on who provides for you. Now there is an electronic warfare. This is no longer a wrestling mat, but a comprehensive approach to solving tactical issues, " he explained.
But even in new types of wrestling, Russia has its own developments. Tolboev confirmed that the latest heavy strike unmanned aerial vehicle S-70 "Hunter" is being successfully tested at the Ashuluk test site. "Hunter" was created ten years ago, and today it entered the arena. This is our greatest achievement. But it is distant, not close. We have them, but we need more of them. We're not going to fight a global battle, are we?" -says the test pilot.
Tolboev explained that in modern military realities, tactical drones are relevant, projects of which also exist in the Russian defense industry. "They are there, everything has been defined in the design bureaus for a long time, the concept has been developed, it has been approved at the government level. They can be close when the contact of the troops is 50 km away. But the most important thing for them is invisibility. And in operational terms - it is somewhere 250-300 km deep. However, it is necessary to increase the flight time of such drones, " he stressed.
MAX is waiting for guests
There are also many developments that Russia will show at the aerospace salon this year. The Honorary President of MAXA said that the event will take place despite the pandemic. He was personally assured of this by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "He said,' We will never let you down. Everything will be fine, " Tolboev said.
At the same time, since many countries have canceled their largest air shows in 2021 due to the pandemic, the organizers of MAX are waiting for an influx of foreign guests. "France refused to hold an air show in Le Bourget. Events in China, Turkey, Indonesia, and Germany will not take place. So, everyone will come to us. This means that the money will be transferred to us, " Tolboev shared his expectations.
He kept secret the latest military developments, which will see visitors to the show, but said that from the civil sector one of the stars of MAKS-2021 will be a "Main plane of the XXI century" - passenger single-aisle MS-21 aircraft developed by Irkut Corporation (part of United aircraft Corporation). The new model of this aircraft is currently undergoing certification tests.
MS-21-300 passenger aircraft
Image source: © Press service of the Corporation "Irkut"
The MC-21 is designed to fly at distances of about 6 thousand km and is being created as a replacement for the Tu-154 and Tu-204/214 airliners, as well as as an alternative to foreign-made aircraft: Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and others.
In addition, Tolboev said that at MAKS-2021, the passenger regional Il-114, which made its first flight in December 2020, and the military transport IL-112, the creation of which has been carried out at PJSC Ilyushin since 2014, will be presented. The Honored Test Pilot also noted that he admired the developments of the Ramenskoye Instrument-Making Plant, which provides avionics.
"Mirror aerobatics"
Tolboev said that of all the aircraft he tested, it is impossible to single out any one that he liked the most. "We, the Soviet test pilots, cannot say what is better or worse. Because we flew everything - from the IL-14 to the IL-62, from the MiG-21 to the Mig-29, from the Su-7 to the Su-27. Sometimes there were three different planes a day,"he said.
According to the pilot, it's all about the habit to a specific plane, which is called "platnost":
"We are used to working with mechanics, like in old cars. So it didn't make any difference to us which plane you were flying in. Of course, I had to get used to it. For example, a simple Tu-22 and Tu-22M are completely different machines. In the Tu-22, a person who has a stomach could not fly, because on takeoff, the steering wheel was automatically extended by 21 degrees and rested directly on the chest. Is it convenient or inconvenient? - says Tolboev. - And then came the MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. There was more space, freer movement and better visibility, and periscopes were installed. Civilizational approach in development".
MiG-29 fighters
Image source: © Donat Sorokin/TASS
"We did air battles with each other - Anatoly Kvochur (Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation, Hero of Russia-approx. TASS) and I. MiG-29 and Su-27, then transferred back. Since he flew more on the MiG-29, it was easy to understand. And I'm better on the Su-27. And then, when we moved, on the contrary: I feel bad on the "Drying", and he feels bad on the "MiG", - Tolboev recalls.
"It is probably important to have a good partner. Yes, Kvochur and I flew meter by meter to each other. How many such videos and photos are there, where the flight is inverted. For the first time, we did mirror aerobatics with him, " he said.
The essence of the figure is simple - one plane is flying on a straight trajectory, and the second one is upside down, as if reflected in a mirror. Today, this complex figure of aerobatics can often be seen in the performance of the Russian air groups " Swifts "and" Russian Knights " at various air shows around the world.
At the end of the conversation, the Hero of Russia Magomed Tolboev said that the constant risk to life is considered common among test pilots, so the highest state awards are awarded according to the totality of merits.
"For specific merits, the title of Hero of Russia is given to the military who performed a feat on the battlefield. And with us, even if you did work on one plane and there was an engine fire, you landed it or ejected, it is not considered an honor. This is a working moment. And so, if you count, I survived 17 times. Well, the last point - it was "Buran". Who left the radar field of observation, and everyone said: "That's it, we've lost him." And I was on the tail. I say, " We didn't lose him. I'm driving it." Therefore, the "Buran" sat down. And specifically for " Buran" I received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor from the hands of Mikhail Gorbachev, " the Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation recalled.
Natalia Dmitrak
