The history of Soviet combat aircraft has always interested me, because it's one of the few areas in which I think their general aerospace development strategy of design-select-integrate-test (as...
The history of Soviet combat aircraft has always interested me, because it's one of the few areas in which I think their general aerospace development strategy of design-select-integrate-test (as opposed to the US's design-test-select-integrate process) actually works. Sure, your first few fighters crash (or burn through their engine service lives in three flights, as here), but then you end up with an ultra-focused aircraft that performs extremely well in its role, as opposed to, say, the F-35. This does not work so well when the systems involved are more complex (see, for instance, the Buran) or more expensive (see, for instance, the N-1) than a fighter jet, but apparently it does have a niche.
The history of Soviet combat aircraft has always interested me, because it's one of the few areas in which I think their general aerospace development strategy of design-select-integrate-test (as opposed to the US's design-test-select-integrate process) actually works. Sure, your first few fighters crash (or burn through their engine service lives in three flights, as here), but then you end up with an ultra-focused aircraft that performs extremely well in its role, as opposed to, say, the F-35. This does not work so well when the systems involved are more complex (see, for instance, the Buran) or more expensive (see, for instance, the N-1) than a fighter jet, but apparently it does have a niche.
Mustard has a video on Nebula for the MiG-31 Foxhound as well.