MiG fighter (Red Alert 3)

"You got a sucker for me?"

- Overheard from a MiG pilot, awaiting early victims



Recent intel surveillance photos show the latest generation of MiG being used by the USSR in the real WWIII. The 1985 Models, manufactured by MiG Aircraft Corp., are used as fast interceptors, only capable of attacking and quickly decimating airborne targets with their Matryoshka Missiles. These new MiGs have new, sleeker designs and VTOL-capabilities, something the older MiG models lacked. Also of note is the fact that the pilots for MiGs were female, echoing that the Soviet Union have only Female fighter aces in OTL WWIII.

The new MiGs lack ejection seats, therefore increasing the casualty rate of the War - expect unfortunate MiG Pilots, when shot down, often go crying the following:

But mostly cried:
 * "FIGHT ON, COMRADES!"
 * "MOTHER RUSSIA!"
 * "MiG GOING DOWN! I REPEAT: MiG GOING DOWN!"

History
"The're on me!"

- MiG in a dogfight

After the spectacular explosion of the prototype KA-3 Tesla plane killed both Krasna Aerospace's lead aircraft designer and test pilot, the state of Soviet fighter design was in shambles. Krasna was in disarray, and industry analysts predicted that the Soviet Union would not be able to field a credible air superiority fighter for at least a decade. They could not have foreseen that two young visionary designers, Mikevich and Guroyan, would join forces to create one of the most successful air superiority fighters in the world.

The MiG fighter is in every way a revolutionary design. Its main weapon system is as dependable and successful as any in the world, able to accurately track and destroy enemy aircraft even when confronted with the most advanced in electronic aerial countermeasures. The MiG's burst-missiles earn their "Matryoshka" nickname from the Russian dolls-within-dolls, due to the missiles' multiple sub-warheads that cause explosive damage inside their targets. This makes the MiG well suited to both intercepting enemy air threats and escorting Soviet bombers and ground attack aircraft.

Designed from the ground up as an air superiority fighter, the MiG fighter has no air-to-ground capability, making it vulnerable to anti-air fire. However, when faced with such threats, MiG pilots are taught to recall the age-old Soviet tale of the Bear and the Dog: While the Dog barks at the oncoming snowstorm in earnest, the Bear retreats to the warmth of the cave to strike another day. Like the Bear, a talented MiG pilot will take advantage of the speed and agility of the aircraft to vacate the airspace before the storm arrives.

It is also the first Soviet production fighter aircraft to have full VTOL capability, allowing it to deploy at forward airbases near the front lines. In normal flight, a sleek aerodynamic design gives the MiG excellent speed and maneuverability. However, due to a lack of precision-machined parts, the mechanism for transitioning between vertical and horizontal flight is somewhat unwieldy. Many flight students find themselves unable to execute the transition, to both their chagrin and that of their flight instructors who must then recover control of the aircraft. Those talented few who master the transition find air combat maneuvering to be relatively straightforward.

Tactics
A clever tactic used by MiG pilots involves using the Return to Base ability to catch up with fast-flying enemy aircraft. If an enemy aircraft is heading in the vague direction of the MiG's home Airfield, and the MiG cannot quite catch up with the enemy (say, an enemy Apollo), then the MiG can engage its Return to Base special ability afterburners, and thanks to the vastly increased speeds with the afterburners on, the MiG can catch up to the enemy, turn off the afterburners once it catches up, and blast the enemy aircraft out of the sky.

Dollar for dollar, MiGs proved superior to Empire of the Rising Sun's Jet Tengus. Allied Apollo Fighters, however, did pose a threat, possessing greater speed and in a one-on-one battle would typically win. The MiG had a better chance in groups do the splash damage done by its missiles, but the Apollo Fighter, overall, would typically win the air battles.

Notes from the field
"MIG GOING DOWN! I REPEAT: MIG GOING DOWN!"

- Overheard from a MiG pilot

Battlefield reconnaissance has revealed at least these facts about the MiG Fighter:

• Forget me not! -- While the M-Type "Matryoshka" missile system takes a few moments to reacquire a target after the previous missile was fired, the missiles are fire-and-forget, giving the MiG the flexibility to break off the attack and move out of danger while the system is resetting for the next shot. The MiG can only carry a limited number of missiles, forcing it to return to base periodically to reload.

• Air Superiority -- Able to stand toe-to-toe with any other air combat plane in the world, the MiG commands respect and fear from Allied and Imperial pilots. Ground attack aircraft are especially vulnerable to its speed and powerful weaponry. Once the MiG is in range to fire, there is little on Earth that can escape from it.

• Check your six -- As powerful as the MiG is against aircraft, it is extremely vulnerable to ground based anti-air weapons. While some ground-based threats are obvious, appearances can be deceiving: After a recent incident near Vladivostok, the Soviet Military Affairs Bureau advises all MiG pilots to use extreme caution when attacking Imperial Chopper-VX aircraft.

• Anything you can do -- When the infamous defector M. Walker entered the Soviet embassy in Rome, he carried with him plans for an auto-pilot device that would automatically cause an aircraft to return to an available airfield, while simultaneously calibrating the trajectory to offset air currents, allowing for a significantly more rapid retreat. This Allied technology now graces the MiG fighter, increasing its already-impressive survivability.

Naming
"I need to pull back!!"

- Mig ordered to return to the airfield

"MiG" comes from Mikevich and Guroyan (Микевич и Гуроян), the heads of the Soviet design bureau who created the aircraft. This is a play on the names of the real life creators of the MiG aircraft line: Mikoyan and Gurevich (Микоян и Гуревич). This MiG resembles a cross between the real life MiG-15 and F-7U Cutlass fighters.

The 'infamous M. Walker' mentioned above may be a reference to John Walker, who was an American spy in real-life that betrayed US submarine secrets to the Soviets.