Abraham Abrams – författare

The United States and Soviet Union began a race to develop the first and most capable fifth generation stealth fighters in the late 1970s. The Cold War’s end, however, was followed by both a near total collapse of Russian efforts and major cuts and delays to American programs. This provided an opening for a rising and fast modernising Chinese defence industry to kick off its own ambitious program to produce a world leading fighter jet with next generation capabilities. Once unveiled, the program came to be seen as a herald of China’s rising status as a leading player in high tech and major world power.Development of the Chengdu J-20 began in the 1990s and has since consistently far exceeded expectations in both its performance and its development timeline. The fighter made its first flight in 2011 and began deliveries to the People's Liberation Army Air Force in 2016 – a small fraction of the time its American and Russian rivals would take. Today it is the world’s second most numerous stealth fighter, outnumbered only by America’s much smaller Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, with the two rivals seeing their first of many likely encounters confirmed in March 2022\. As the J-20’s capabilities have rapidly improved and the rate of production has significantly grown, it has very conspicuously played a growing role in patrolling major hotspots in East Asia from Korea and the East China Sea to the Taiwan Strait and disputed South China Sea.The J-20 program’s success has been the most potent symbol of China’s ascent from a minor player in combat aviation during the Cold War, to the United States’ only peer level competitor today. It has also set China on a course of pursuing multiple other fighter development efforts – including a close competition with America to field the first and most capable sixth generation fighter in the 2030s. The J-20 thus marks a major landmark not only in Chinese aviation history, but also more broadly in the evolving balance of power between East and West as the country’s technological and economic ascents allow it to successfully pursue highly ambitious weapons programs.This book takes the J-20’s story far back to the formation of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and its trial by fire in the Korean War, tracing the rationale for developing a top end air superiority fighter. It also compares its performance with rival fifth generation fighter programs in other countries and looks ahead to what the future may hold in this new arms race.

Entering service in 1981, the Soviet MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor was developed specifically for very long-range air and missile defence operations in the Arctic. Designed to secure Soviet territory against strategic bombers over great distances, the aircraft’s combination of an exceptional cruising speed over twice the speed of sound, a large arsenal of long-range air-to-air missiles, and a cutting edge radar of unprecedented size and power, made it in many respects the most outstanding tactical combat jet of its generation. Forty-five years later, having benefited from incremental modernization, the Foxhound continues to be relied on as the sole air defence asset guarding the large majority of Russia’s more remote regions, including some of the most strategically critical and resource rich areas of the Arctic.Despite its longevity in service, the MiG-31’s importance in the Russian Armed Forces has continued to grow due to a multitude of converging factors, including the escalation of geopolitical conflict in the Arctic, the expansion of numbers in service, and the service entry of new variants designed for ballistic missile strike and anti-satellite warfare roles in the late 2010s. Following the testing of its capabilities, both as a long-range interceptor and as a ballistic missile strike aircraft in combat in the Ukrainian theatre from 2022, the Foxhound’s demonstration of distinct advantages over other Russian combat aircraft has drawn growing attention from defence analysts, and cemented the consensus regarding its central importance in the Russian Armed Forces.This book provides a detailed assessment of the MiG-31 from its initial conceptualization as an enhanced variant of the ground-breaking MiG-25P Foxbat interceptor in the early 1970s, to its continued central role in the Russian Aerospace Forces in era of renewed conflict with the West and ongoing high intensity operations against Ukraine. Operational engagements revealed in this book range from interceptions of USAF SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance flights and standoffs with American F-15s near Japan in the 1980s to the precision targeting of Ukrainian air defence systems from 2023\. The impacts of the post-Soviet decline in Russia’s standing in related technologies and industries on the MiG-31’s evolution, and the growing uncertainties regarding both its future and Russia’s ability to develop a capable successor, are also examined in detail.