The Soviet equivalent of the American U2 spy plane the

The Soviet equivalent of the American U2 spy plane, the Miasishchev M 55, could return to service in Ukraine’s military zone

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The Soviet equivalent of the American U2 spy plane the

In the 1950s, the US Air Force launched the Genitrix program, which consisted of sending stratospheric balloons – beyond the range of existing air defense systems and fighter aircraft at the time – over the Soviet Union and China for reconnaissance purposes. The Red Army also tried – in vain – to find a solution…

However, after the recovery of an American U2 spy plane shot down over the Degtiarsk region, a solution was found. [Oural] by a salvo of fourteen S-75 Dvina missiles [code Otan : SA-2 Guideline] according to Moscow’s official version.

Since the U2 could actually fly at an altitude of 21,300 meters, the Soviet General Staff considered producing an armed copy under the designation S-13. The development was entrusted to the manufacturer Beriev. However, this project was abruptly abandoned in 1962. However, five years later, the Kremlin commissioned VM Miasishchev to research a new subsonic fighter aircraft capable of flying in the stratosphere. Which led to the development of the M-17 Stratosfera [ou Mystic A]A first prototype crashed during an unauthorized test flight in 1978.

Officially, the first flight of the M-17 took place on May 26, 1982. But once again the program was abandoned… before being reborn as the M-55 [ou Mystic B], for reconnaissance flights. According to sources, two to five examples were built.

Since the end of the Cold War, these aircraft have been used primarily for scientific research purposes, although they are still owned by the Russian Aerospace Forces, which consider them reconnaissance aircraft. One of them took part in a study of polar clouds in the Arctic zone in 2003. Recently, an M-55 “Geophysica” was requested for the StratoClim project, carried out in 2016 by 26 European research institutes leading studies on the climate and the Arctic stratosphere.

However, these M-55 “Geophysica” could certainly find the military use that they should have received during the Cold War. In fact, recent photos available in open sources have shown one of these aircraft equipped with a KNIRTI UKR-RT pod, normally used by Su-34 “Fullback” tactical bombers for electronic reconnaissance missions.

Hence the hypothesis that these M-55s could soon be used again as reconnaissance and reconnaissance aircraft for operations over Ukrainian territory. [voire au-delà?].

In any case, the British Ministry of Defense commented on the war in Ukraine in its daily briefing [MoD] do not rule out this possibility.

“Russia is likely planning to return the M-55 MYSTIC B high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft to service [datant] the Soviet era,” he wrote on November 19th. “With an operating altitude of more than 70,000 feet, it has recently been used for scientific research missions. However, it was observed using a military reconnaissance capsule designed for use on Russian fighter aircraft,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the return of the M-55 to service by the Russian armed forces could be explained by their difficulties in “establishing an adequate intelligence, surveillance, targeting and reconnaissance capacity.” [ISTAR].

He also concludes: “There is a realistic possibility that the M-55 will be deployed again to the front line to augment Russia’s limited ISTAR capabilities over Ukraine.” Its ability to fly at high altitudes makes this possible its sensors to operate at a considerable safe distance.”

Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin – CC BY-SA 4.0