Original subtitles

Narrator: Quick...

Durable...

And deadly.

Man: This aircraft set the western world on its ear.

Narrator: The mig has been america's enemy

For more than 50 years.

Man: Mig was considered to be the best

Of the soviet fighters.

Narrator: Born in response to a terrifying threat.

Man: Stalin realized that a new class of aircraft

Had to be created.

Narrator: This aircraft turned the tables

On united states airpower...

Man: And the migs came in from behind,

And they just knocked him right out of the sky.

Narrator: ...All in an effort to fulfill its birthright--

Defense.

Woman: The north vietnamese mig-21 pilots

Were willing to do whatever it took.

Narrator: It's the aircraft born to give america's adversaries

A fighting chance.

Man: All they needed was to kill one western pilot

To show the world that they were as bad

As everybody thought they were.

♪

Narrator: January 1991.

Saddam hussein's republican guard

Occupies kuwait,

Defying the international community.

The united states and its coalition partners

Have finally had enough.

George bush: Five months ago,

Saddam hussein started this cruel war against kuwait.

Tonight, the battle has been joined.

Narrator: U.S. Generals know that whoever controls

The skies over iraq

Will secure victory.

Owning the skies won't be easy.

The iraqis have the fifth largest air force in the world,

Equipped with advanced aircraft supplied by the soviet union,

Most notably the brand-new jet fighter

Known as the mig-29 fulcrum.

Migs-- these powerful russian jets

Have been american airpower's fiercest enemies

For over 50 years.

The mig-29 is one of its most recent

And deadly incarnations,

Designed to intercept any aircraft that crosses its path.

Scott marchand: They're there to intercept

Whatever the threat is.

Principally their objective would be bombers

Or high-value targets.

Narrator: Just 57 feet long

And 37 feet wide,

This little fighter is a menace in the skies.

Marchand: Being an interceptor,

They mostly rely on air-to-air rockets.

It also has a single onboard 30-millimeter cannon

That carries about 100 rounds of ammunition.

Narrator: With a price tag of less than $22 million,

These jets are built in bulk,

Making them popular with developing nations

Around the world, including iraq.

Marchand: The iraqis first acquired these in the late 1980s

When they were at war with the iranians,

So iraqi mig pilots had a lot of experience

In the cockpit and in combat by the time of desert storm.

Narrator: January 19, 1991.

Coalition airpower has been pounding

The iraqis for two days.

[explosions]

But u.S. Pilots know the migs are still in the fight.

Cesar rodriguez: Their number-one goal,

Their number-one mission was get a coalition kill.

Narrator: Colonel cesar rodriguez

Flew f-15s in the u.S. Air force for over 25 years.

Rodriguez: All they needed was to kill one western pilot

To show the world that they were as bad

As everybody thought they were.

Narrator: Tabuk air base, saudi arabia.

A 60-plane coalition strike force

Made up of f-16s, f-15s, and f-4s

Takes off towards iraq.

Its mission-- bomb an iraqi weapons facility

On the outskirts of baghdad.

Rodriguez: The target was a munitions storage area

That was supplying both air-to-air

And air-to-ground weapons,

As well as weapons that were being used by the iraqi army,

And so the goal of the strike package

Was to neutralize that underground bunker.

Narrator: Coalition pilots know

That once their planes deliver their weapons,

The iraqi migs are likely to respond.

Rodriguez and another f-15 pilot follow the strike force

For just that reason.

Rodriguez: Our job was to make sure

That none of them were vulnerable.

We were their dedicated protection.

Narrator: Not long after takeoff,

The strike package reaches its target

And begins to unload its bombs.

[explosions]

Rodriguez and his wingman watch the mayhem unfold

As they fly close behind.

Rodriguez: The number of weapons that were exploding

Was just amazing.

I mean, it was a fireworks demonstration,

At a magnitude that we could never imagine.

Narrator: Moments later,

The strike force heads back to base,

But their work doesn't go unnoticed.

Rodriguez: We detected a series of unidentifiable contacts

North-northeast of our position.

As we get closer, our radars can actually now

Break out two separate contacts,

And then we start to determine they're mig-29s.

Narrator: The enemy planes are heading

Straight for the american fighters.

Before rodriguez and his wingman can respond,

The two migs turn tail and run.

Rodriguez: They basically start a turn,

And out of their turn,

They are now flying back towards baghdad.

Narrator: The f-15s throttle their afterburners

And fly off in hot pursuit.

Moments later,

They discover they've been lured into a trap.

Rodriguez: What we realized very quickly

Is these two migs are starting to pull us

Into the baghdad integrated air and missile defense zone,

And we start to get radar warning indications

That the sams, the surface-to-air missiles,

Are locking us up.

Narrator: The f-15s are flying

Over hundreds of radar-guided surface-to-air missiles,

Each one vying to take a shot at the american pilots.

Rodriguez: So now we're in the trap,

And how do we get out of the trap?

Narrator: Rodriguez can continue to pursue the mig-29s

And risk being shot down

Or turn back and let the fulcrums get away.

Rodriguez: My initial reaction was, "okay, abort now.

Let's get out of here.

We don't need to be in this fight anymore."

But before I could call out abort,

Awacs calls out, "the guy's off my left, 9:00."

Narrator: The awacs is an e-3

Early warning and control aircraft.

Its crew has spotted a third mig-29 just eight miles away

And closing in fast.

Rodriguez: He's a matter of seconds

From being able to take a shot at me.

It's, it's not minutes, it's seconds.

I knew that I had to do a lot of work to survive.

Narrator: Rodriguez knows that if a mig-29 fulcrum

Has you in its sights, escape is nearly impossible.

Marchand: The mig-29 is a mach 2 plus capable aircraft.

That means twice the speed of sound.

Really, really incredibly speedy aircraft.

And it's dangerous in close combat,

Especially in the hands of a capable pilot.

Narrator: Its short wings allow the fulcrum to roll on a dime.

Two klimov rd-33 jet engines

Give it over 30,000 pounds of thrust.

Marchand: It's like a dragster. It's a muscle street car.

The speed and maneuverability of the mig-29

Is what really makes them deadly in a dogfight.

Narrator: 10,000 feet above iraq,

Colonel cesar rodriguez knows he and his wingman

Are facing a dangerous opponent.

Rodriguez: We assumed that this guy

Was the biggest, baddest dude on the block,

And we had to be on our number-one a-game to beat them.

Narrator: The incoming mig is just seconds away

From blowing rodriguez out of the sky.

Rodriguez: The mig's radar can see me,

And so I go strictly into the defensive mode.

Narrator: Rodriguez banks left and dives down fast.

If he can confuse the mig's radar,

He might have a fighting chance.

Rodriguez: The mig-29 radar is meant to look into a blue sky,

Where there's very little clutter,

'cause I want to force his radar

To look down into the ground environment,

And now the radar's got to recalculate the math

To deliver the weapon.

Narrator: Rodriguez must escape the iraqi mig's deadly grasp

Or risk losing everything to one of america's most bitter foes.

Rodriguez: I'm in 100 percent survival mode

Because the enemy's locked on to my airplane.

That's as vulnerable as you get in the air-to-air dogfight.

[beeping]

Narrator: January 1991. Operation desert storm.

Colonel cesar rodriguez tries to avoid being shot down

By an iraqi mig-29.

Unless his wingman acts quickly, rodriguez doesn't have a chance.

Rodriguez: At that point, I am in the pure defensive mode,

And now I turn it over to my wingman,

Who is about three miles behind me.

He sees the same thing that I see.

He locks the lead mig

And then takes a shot with his aim-7.

Narrator: Seconds later,

Rodriguez's wingman's heat-seeking aim-7 missile

Reaches the mig.

Rodriguez: The end result was we had one mig down.

Splash one is the radio call that I made.

Man on radio: Splash! Splash coming out westbound!

Rodriguez: And now we're trying to figure out what's next.

Narrator: What's next is more trouble.

The e-3 awacs alerts rodriguez

To another mig-29 just ten miles away.

This time, rodriguez and his wingman

Won't be caught off guard.

Rodriguez: We have two options.

We can turn south and run away,

Or we can turn north and fight our way through that mig.

And the option that I selected

Was to fight our way through that mig.

Narrator: Rodriguez and the mig face off

In a intense aerial spiral,

Chasing each other's tails.

Suddenly the mig-29 flies down toward the desert floor,

Trying to outmaneuver the f-15's radar.

Rodriguez: At that point, I suspect that the mig felt

That I could either be coming in for a gunshot

Or I could be getting ready to hit him with a missile.

Narrator: Rodriguez watches the mig

Take a hard turn back up,

But it's too late to escape the momentum down.

Rodriguez: You could see his afterburners are cooking.

He's trying to do everything he can

To bring the nose of his airplane through the horizon,

But it doesn't happen.

He put himself in a no-win solution,

Which ultimately translated into a fireball on the ground.

It wasn't until after the final engagement

That I started to reflect on, "wow, what just happened?"

It was amazing and also humbling,

Because I knew I was within seconds of, of being a casualty.

Narrator: Rodriguez's battle marks

Yet another close-in dogfight

Between a mig and an american jet.

But when the mig first took flight,

The united states and the mig were fighting the same enemy.

September 1939.

World war ii erupts in europe.

Hitler's germany invades poland

And splits the territory with the soviet union.

The agreement shocks the west.

Once bitter foes,

Stalin and hitler are suddenly allies.

Stalin fears it won't last long.

Roger connor: Stalin always knew

That his treaties and arrangements with hitler

Were going to be temporary.

Narrator: Roger connor is a curator

At the smithsonian air and space museum.

Connor: Stalin knew that he had to better prepare

His armed forces,

Particularly to catch up to the very significant advances

That germany had demonstrated in the skies over poland.

Narrator: One nazi plane is particularly troubling--

The messerschmitt bf 109.

Connor: Bf 109 had good high-altitude performance.

It carried a pretty formidable weapons package.

It had good range, a high degree of maneuverability.

It was a wonderful all-around high-performance fighter,

And unfortunately for stalin,

His small single-seat fighters were starting to show their age

And certainly were not the match of the bf 109.

Narrator: Stalin knows that if the nazis invade,

The soviet air force will need a new aircraft

That can take them on.

Connor: This meant creating new designs with a greater emphasis

On high-altitude performance,

Accommodating better weapon systems,

Improving the range of the aircraft,

And their weapons loadout.

Narrator: In January 1940,

Stalin demands a brand-new fighter,

One capable of standing up to the german air force.

Connor: Stalin tasked the design of this new fighter

To an associate of a family friend,

And this was artem mikoyan.

Artem mikoyan had prior air force experience.

His personal connections within the communist party

Were impeccable, and he was a gifted designer,

So he was well-positioned to take on this role.

Narrator: Mikoyan isn't alone.

His right-hand man is mikhail gurevich,

An experienced chief constructor known for getting the job done.

Connor: Mikoyan and gurevich were an effective pairing.

Mikoyan worked on terms of managing the production

And smoothing various issues with the communist authorities.

Gurevich was the gifted engineer that really understood

What it took to put an effective fighter plane in the air.

Narrator: April 1940, moscow.

Mikoyan and gurevich debut their design--the I-200.

Connor: The initial prototype, the I-200,

Was off to a promising start.

It was a fast aircraft.

It, on paper, certainly could appear to match the 109,

If not surpass it.

Narrator: Expectations are high for the fast new aircraft,

But testing reveals the prototype's flaws.

Connor: Visibility was poor.

It was not the most stable design.

It was a difficult airplane to handle on the ground.

Braking was quite poor.

So, all in all, it was an incomplete package.

Promising, but not quite ready for effective service.

Narrator: Stalin believes that the flawed new aircraft

Is better than nothing at all.

Connor: He was desperate to meet the german threat,

And so it was rushed into production.

Narrator: December 1940.

Khodynka airfield, moscow.

The mig design bureau rolls out

Its brand new fighter-- the mig-1.

Alexander velovich: The soviet union established

The custom of naming the aircraft

By the first letters of the names of the designers,

So mig, m, mikoyan, I for "and," and g for gurevich.

Narrator: Alexander velovich worked as lead designer

At the mig design bureau for over 13 years.

Velovich: The mig-1 actually was, as some engineers say,

A raw design, and it had some drawbacks,

So improvements were made while the aircraft was in production.

Narrator: No sooner is the aircraft built,

Do mikoyan and gurevich begin upgrading the design,

Improving its visibility, power, and stability.

They call it the mig-3, establishing a practice

Of naming each new aircraft by sequential odd numbers.

Velovich: The mig-3 had many improvements from mig-1

And eliminated most of the drawbacks

And was a better design.

Narrator: With a max speed of almost 400 miles per hour,

The mig-3 can fly just as fast as the nazi bf 109.

Velovich: So mig was considered

To be the best of the new soviet fighters

Because it was a good match for messerschmitt bf 109.

Narrator: Moscow is impressed and orders mikoyan and gurevich

To begin mass producing their new aircraft right away.

But the new migs are still untested where it matters most--

In combat.

June 1941.

The fragile peace between the germans and the soviets

Has finally broken.

The nazis turn on their former allies and attack.

Hitler orders massive airstrikes.

Stalin sees his worst fears

About the readiness of his air force come true.

Velovich: The soviet union, of course,

Was caught by surprise by german invasion.

And in the first months of the world war ii,

The soviet air force suffered great losses.

Narrator: Soviet pilots have had just six months

To learn to fly the new migs.

They're no match for the seasoned german pilots.

Velovich: The first year of the war

With the germans on the eastern front,

German luftwaffe attained

Practically absolute air superiority.

♪

Narrator: Over the next few months,

The german army pushes deeper into the ussr,

Advancing dangerously close to moscow.

Air-to-ground attack planes are now the soviets' priority.

The dogfighting migs fall out of favor.

Velovich: By the end of 1941,

The most useful combat aircraft

Was ilyushin il-2 sturmovik ground-attack aircraft

Because it was very, very efficient

Against the german troops on the ground, and german tanks.

That aircraft had practically the same engine as the mig-3,

Which was mostly intended for high-altitude air combat,

Which didn't happen too often.

Narrator: By December, moscow questions the mig's worth

And orders mikoyan and gurevich to cease production.

Velovich: So stalin ordered all the engines

Intended for the mig-3 to be reallocated

For the production of il-2 sturmovik,

And that's how the production of the mig-3 stopped,

So mikoyan and gurevich design bureau

Was left without serious production for several years.

Narrator: The mig design bureau refuses to give up.

The partners push hard for a better fighter.

Velovich: Mikoyan and gurevich used this opportunity

To experiment with new technologies

To develop new prototypes,

And it gave them better chances

To be prepared for the next generation of fighters.

Connor: They were really starting to address

Some of the critical issues

Associated with high-performance warfare.

There were a series of interim mig designs,

Particularly in the latter part of world war ii,

Things like the mig-5, mig-7

That never made it to full production.

It's not until after world war ii

That the mig design bureau really comes into its own.

[cheering]

Narrator: 1945.

World war ii is finally over.

The soviets and their former western allies

Slide into a state of mutual distrust.

Connor: When world war ii ended,

The united states had demonstrated

That it was now the world's only superpower,

And the soviet union felt that its gains,

Particularly in eastern europe, were potentially at threat.

Narrator: The biggest threat-- america's powerful new weapon

And the american bombers that can deliver it

Right to the soviets' door.

Velovich: Of course moscow was very concerned about the ability

Of the u.S. Air force to use the b-29 strategic bombers

To deliver nuclear bombs.

Connor: Stalin realized that a new class of aircraft

Had to be created to defend against those bombers,

And that meant jet engines.

Narrator: During world war ii,

Jet engines are still being developed.

After the war, the west quickly races ahead,

Leaving soviet aviation behind.

Connor: Both britain and the united states

Had developed the jet engine to a fairly high degree,

And it was obvious that jet technology was another field

Where the western powers were well in the lead,

And so stalin was desperate to see that jet technology

In the soviet union advanced as fast as possible.

Narrator: Stalin soon sets his sights

On one engine in particular--

The rolls-royce nene, a state-of-the-art design

With 5,000 pounds of thrust.

Connor: The nene engine was well-suited to mass production.

It boasted a significant advance in power

And was really a very good all-around capable engine.

Narrator: Moscow sends mikoyan

And a delegation of engineers to England

To see if the brits will sell.

Stalin knows that if he can make the deal,

It just may be the break that the soviet air force needs.

Connor: The soviets needed

The latest advances in jet technology

To really push their designs up to an equal level

With what they were seeing coming from the west.

Narrator: September 1946.

The united kingdom.

Prime minister clement attlee looks to the east

For new aircraft customers and potential alliances.

Connor: The british aerospace industry was very concerned

About american dominance in the field,

And britain wanted as many international customers

As they could possibly have,

So attlee saw the transfer of the nene engine

To the soviet union

As a way of encouraging a new openness

With the communist bloc

On the basis of commercial technology transfer.

Narrator: The soviets quickly make the purchase,

Sending more than 50 of the nenes back home to moscow,

Where they disappear from public view.

Connor: What exactly was done to them

And how they were being used

Was really not well appreciated within the west.

The western powers saw most soviet designs

As fairly clunky and, and somewhat primitive.

There was not a lot of fear

Over some new soviet super fighter

Appearing overnight.

Narrator: Behind the iron curtain,

The soviets race to take advantage

Of their new technology.

The west will soon learn

That it's vastly underestimated its enemy.

Connor: It was probably one of the most critical mistakes

Made by great britain in the cold war.

[guns firing]

Narrator: November 1950.

The united states is at war

With north korea and its chinese allies.

U.S. Air force b-29 superfortresses

Bomb their enemies without mercy,

Hoping to bring the communists to their knees.

The soviet union watches it all unfold with increasing alarm.

Velovich: If north korea would fail,

It would present a great threat to the communist china,

And it could be the beginning of world war iii.

Narrator: Stalin vows to help the north koreans

Push back america and its allies,

But it must be done in secret.

Connor: Stalin's best option was to supply

Fighter planes and his pilots,

But ensuring that they would never be in a position

To have their involvement exposed.

Narrator: Moscow quietly stations

Over 100 soviet fighter pilots along the north korean border,

Ready to battle america under the chinese flag.

Their fighter of choice

Is one the west has yet to encounter in battle--

The deadly mig-15.

Rick sharpe: This is the mig-15.

This aircraft, when it came out,

Set the western world on its ear.

Narrator: 33 feet long, just 12 feet tall,

The little mig-15 makes a big impression.

Sharpe: It has two 23-millimeter cannons

And a 37-millimeter cannon.

One hit from one of these could easily bring down an aircraft.

Narrator: The guns are just part of the equation.

The mig-15's speed makes it even deadlier.

Sharpe: The mig-15 has a climb rate

Of about 10,000 feet per minute,

And that was mainly because the russians decided to use

The centrifugal compressor engine,

Which was the rolls-royce nene design.

Narrator: Inspired by the rolls-royce nene,

The mig-15's vk-1 engine

Produces nearly 6,000 pounds of thrust,

Propelling this jet to nearly 700 miles per hour.

Sharpe: It was designed with one thing in mind,

And that was shooting down a b-29 bomber.

Narrator: During the korean war,

The mig-15 is determined to fulfill its birthright.

♪

1951. Antung province, china.

Soviet mig-15s swarm just north of the korean border,

Laying in wait for u.S. Aircraft.

In April, they shoot down at least 12 allied bombers...

...Giving the airspace a reputation

As one of the deadliest over the peninsula.

Earl mcgill: That area was called mig alley.

Narrator: Lieutenant earl mcgill served as a b-29 pilot

During the korean war.

Mcgill: So, when you went into that area,

You pretty much knew you were going to encounter migs.

Narrator: The u.S. Is reluctant

To antagonize china and the soviet union,

Giving the migs and their hit-and-run strategy

A huge advantage.

Mcgill: Our leaders didn't want us flying into china

Because they didn't want the soviet union to interfere

And then have this whole thing

Escalate into some sort of atomic bomb war.

This gave the migs a sanctuary that we couldn't touch.

Narrator: American bombers learn to shy away from the area,

Focusing their efforts on other battles.

But as the war rages on,

Many fear the mig's reach will only grow,

And the u.S. Must return to mig alley to stop them.

October 23, 1951.

Okinawa, japan.

Nine b-29s take off towards korea.

Their mission--bomb namsi,

An airfield the north koreans are building

Right in the heart of mig alley.

If namsi airfield becomes operational,

Some in the u.S. Air force believe that mig alley

Could quickly become a mig highway.

Mcgill: Preventing the migs from coming south

Had to be of high priority,

Because that meant that targets even further south

Would be within range.

So, yes, it was an important target.

Narrator: Five hours after takeoff,

Nine b-29s cross into north korean airspace.

34 f-86 sabres and 55 f-84 thunderjets join them,

Making the u.S. Strike force almost 100 aircraft strong.

Mcgill: The f-84s came down

And flew relatively close air support for the 29s,

While the f-86s stayed high

To come down on 'em as soon as any migs showed up.

Narrator: The b-29s arrive over their target

And begin dropping their bombs.

[explosions]

Almost immediately, a pack of 60 mig-15s comes roaring in,

Ignoring the f-84 and f-86 escorts

And heading straight for the b-29s.

Mcgill: The aircraft commander heard it over the radio.

"the migs are on us."

And a moment later, the migs came in from behind,

And they just knocked him right out of the sky.

Narrator: While the escort fighters struggle to regroup,

The migs unload a barrage

Of 22-millimeter and 37-millimeter cannon fire...

[cannon fire]

Thirsty for more bomber blood.

Mcgill: The big advantage of the mig-15

Was its cannon range and explosive firepower.

It could fire out of range

Of the b-29's 50-caliber machine guns

And shoot down the b-29

Without the b-29 ever getting a shot back.

Narrator: B-29 gunners rush to respond,

But the mig-15s are small, nimble fighters,

Maneuvering easily,

Thanks in part to their sweptwing design.

Velovich: The mig-15 was the first russian fighter

To have swept wings,

With a sweep angle of 35 degrees backwards,

And this helped to attain much greater maximum speed,

Because the swept wings cut through the air like a knife.

Narrator: The mig-15s continue to rip into the b-29 bombers

With deadly efficiency, outflying the americans

And dealing the strike force a devastating blow.

Mcgill: Six aircraft never flew again.

Three were shot down, and three were so badly damaged

That they never took off again.

Narrator: It's the highest percentage of u.S. Bombers

Lost in a single sortie in the entire war.

The mig-15 soon becomes known as the jet that shocked the west.

Connor: The soviets had fielded a capability

That was a direct threat not only to u.S. Bomber formations,

But that was giving

The top-of-the-line u.S. Fighter plane, the f-86,

A pretty good run for its money.

Narrator: The u.S. Must figure out these deadly migs soon

Or risk falling behind the soviets

In their race to control the skies.

July 1953. Korea.

The communist north and the capitalist south

Agree to a cease-fire, bringing the fighting to an end.

Rebecca grant: The south and the north are split

By a demilitarized zone, but it's still heavy armed.

Narrator: Dr. Rebecca grant has studied air force history

For over 20 years.

Grant: Everything's ready to shoot at anything

That comes down from the north.

And the mystery of the mig-15 remains to be solved.

Narrator: America is desperate to get a close-up look

At the soviet fighter.

The united states offers north korean pilots

Political asylum if they deliver an enemy plane.

Grant: Just a few months after the cease-fire,

One of the north korean pilots takes the chance.

Narrator: September 21, 1953.

Near pyongyang, north korea.

Pilot no kum-sok takes off in a mig-15 and flies south,

Heading straight for an american air base.

Kum-sok nervously approaches in his mig-15.

He knows he's taking a dangerous risk.

Grant: No kum-sok sets up on short final,

And he's going the wrong way for the traffic pattern.

At the same time, an f-86 is about to touch down.

He sees another aircraft in the pattern

Coming right for him, and it's a mig!

A mig-15!

Narrator: Ground forces scramble in a panic

As kum-sok taxies his mig towards an empty parking lot,

Cuts his engine, and surrenders.

Grant: Everyone is shocked! No kum-sok becomes a celebrity.

He's escaped north korea, and in exchange,

The americans get a mig-15 that they can exploit,

Take apart, fly, and figure out how to beat it.

Narrator: The mig-15's first stop--okinawa, japan,

Where american test pilots give it a spin,

Hoping to learn how the aircraft handles.

Next, wright-patterson air force base in ohio,

Where air force engineers analyze the mechanics

To learn how it works.

Grant: There's just one thing they want.

They want to be able to beat the mig-15

In any future conflicts.

Narrator: Little do the americans know

That their mig-15 is already obsolete.

In moscow, the mig design bureau

Has rolled out its replacement-- the mig-17.

With a max speed of over 700 miles per hour

And a newly designed wing,

The mig-17 is a mig-15 on steroids.

Sharpe: This mig-17 has a 45-degree swept back

Rather than the 35-degree swept back of the mig-15.

This gave the aircraft a lot more transonic stability,

Where it could approach mach 1.

Narrator: Propelling these jets to incredible speeds,

A technology new to the soviets--the afterburner.

Sharpe: The afterburner gave it 30 percent more thrust.

It did that by feeding fuel into the affluent of the jet engine.

It allowed the mig-17 variants to live on to today.

Narrator: The mig-17 is rugged, fast, cheap,

And designed to intercept jet bombers and shoot them down.

The soviets soon begin to license it

To other communist countries.

Connor: The mig series really became known

For this suitability for third world nations

That didn't have a lot of infrastructure,

Didn't have a lot of money,

And did not have particularly well-trained pilots.

Narrator: The west counters with jets

That can fly higher and faster, sending the mig design bureau

Back to the drawing board.

Two years later, they unveil their fastest

And most advanced jet fighter to date--

The mig-21.

Sharpe: This is the mig 21.

This aircraft was the soviet bloc's premier fighter.

It has a top speed of over mach 2,

Can climb to 60,000 feet in a mere 3 or 4 minutes.

Narrator: With over 16,000 pounds of thrust,

This jet flies more like a rocket.

Sharpe: As a pilot,

You feel like you're gonna be riding a bottle rocket.

It is a very hard acceleration.

It's one of the fastest accelerating airplanes

I ever flew.

Narrator: Keeping it running at those speeds--the sonic ram.

Sharpe: When you're going 1.5 times the speed of sound,

This is going to start to extend.

The reason it extends, it has to slow down the air

So that you're not getting air at a supersonic speed

Into the engine and possibly flame out the engine.

Narrator: When dogfighting, it's like a dancing red spear,

Thanks in part to its most unique feature--its wings.

Sharpe: This is the delta wing.

It has 65 to 68 degrees swept back.

It is a straight leading edge.

This is what makes this

Such a high-speed yet maneuverable aircraft.

Narrator: If caught in its sights,

The mig-21 can shoot you down with its 23-millimeter cannon

Or up to four deadly air-to-air missiles.

Sharpe: This aircraft could carry either radar-ranging

Or heat-seeking missiles,

And they were quite effective.

Most of the aircraft shot down by the mig-21s

Were shot down with either the radar-ranging

Or heat-seeking missiles.

Narrator: It's clear the mig-21 is a cold killer,

But for its pilots and maintainers,

Keeping it airborne is nothing to fear.

Sharpe: The aircraft is easy to maintain

And easy to operate,

And that's why most of the small third world nations

Use this aircraft as a frontline fighter.

Narrator: Soon, air forces around the world

Are buying the soviet migs,

One of which is north vietnam.

In 1965, the north vietnamese air force has just 36 migs.

Three years later, the number has increased to 180.

The mig-17s and mig-21s confront american airpower

Over 500 aircraft strong

And make fast and devastating attacks

Against u.S. Formations.

Connor: Their primary mode of engagement was an ambush.

The mig-17s would usually attack

Either from much higher altitude,

Coming from behind,

Or they would come up from below at very high speed

And pull into the vertical.

Narrator: The mig-21s, however, have an added benefit--missiles.

Connor: The mig-21 was a missile-equipped aircraft.

This gave the north vietnamese the ability to zoom in quickly,

Launch a missile or two,

And then get right back out again.

Grant: And as a result, this elite group often inflicted

A high kill ratio against u.S. Pilots.

Narrator: Throughout the war,

North vietnamese migs trade victories and tragedies

With american fighters.

Grant: With the migs versus the americans,

It's too close for comfort.

The kill ratios shift back in favor of the migs

On many separate occasions.

Narrator: But mig designers don't want their jets

To fight to a draw.

They want them to win.

In 1970, the mig design bureau

Reveals yet another new fighter--the mig-25.

At 40,000 pounds empty,

The mig-25 is heavier than two mig-21s combined.

Grant: American pilots knew how good the mig-21 was,

So when we started hearing rumors about the mig-25,

Everyone was ready to believe this was a ferocious weapon.

Narrator: U.S. Intelligence claims the mig-25

Can fly three times the speed of sound

And reach over 60,000 feet.

Grant: If the mig-25 could fly that high,

Every aircraft in the air force was vulnerable,

So we needed something radically different

So that the mig-25 couldn't get ahead of us.

Narrator: The pentagon ups the ante

With two new air force fighters--

The f-15 eagle and the f-16 falcon.

Moscow takes note of america's new fighters.

It's determined to rise to the challenge.

Grant: Moscow wants the next mig to be the world's best fighter.

They'll take the best of their aerospace technology

In design, maneuverability, engines, armaments, radar,

And cockpit avionics,

And just like the mig-15,

It'll be a huge shock to the west.

Narrator: October 1977.

The mig design bureau's sleek and deadly-looking new mig-29

Makes its debut.

Grant: It's got the agility, two engines,

And the mig-29, for the first time,

Includes from the start,

The onboard radar, avionics, and weapons

That will keep it at the leading edge of air combat.

Connor: The mig-29 represented mig's desire

To continue their trend

Of having a rugged, reliable aircraft

That could operate nearly anywhere in the world,

But one that also embodied

The latest trends in western fighter design.

Narrator: Soviet allies like hungary, poland,

And east germany purchase the new aircraft

And station them within striking distance

Of american bases in europe.

The united states watches the buildup with increasing concern.

Grant: We're on the verge of a second cold war.

This couldn't be like korea or vietnam,

Where it took us years

To figure out how to beat the migs.

The pilots had to be ready from day one.

♪

Narrator: April 1977.

Thousands of soviet migs are positioned around the globe,

Threatening america and its western allies.

The pentagon launches

A top-secret pilot training program

At tonopah air force base.

They call it constant peg.

The pilots who fly it are called the red eagles.

Karl whittenberg: Our purpose, our mission,

Was to train u.S. Fighter forces in air-to-air tactics

Against real mig airplanes.

Narrator: Colonel karl whittenberg

Was a mig pilot and instructor

During the constant peg program.

Whittenberg: There's always been this impression

That migs are scary,

And they're frightfully effective.

The purpose of constant peg

Was getting people past the buck fever

Of actually seeing and engaging against a mig.

Narrator: To do this,

Whittenberg and his fellow pilots learn to fly

Mig-17s, mig-21s, and mig-23s

And begin flying them against u.S. Pilots during training.

Whittenberg: Our pilots had never seen a mig,

Let alone flown against it.

And having done that, they come to this realization

That the mig is just another airplane,

And I'm more comfortable psychologically

And better capable of fighting one.

Narrator: The program's existence remains classified,

But the lessons learned live on.

Whittenberg: After the training,

We would fly back down to nellis air force base

And meet with that pilot, whoever flew against him,

And debrief him.

You would want them to impart any added knowledge,

You know, that they learned flying against the migs

To their squadron mates.

Grant: The tactics they came up with were formalized and spread

Throughout the squadrons in the air force and the navy

So that the entire u.S. Air forces

Could learn how to defeat migs.

Narrator: Over the next 20 years,

U.S. Pilots shoot down several migs in combat.

Mig pilots shoot down zero air force fighters.

It appears u.S. Pilot training has finally cracked the code.

Some believe the mig's deficiencies

Are due to subpar technology.

Others blame economics.

Velovich: In 1990s, the soviet union collapsed.

It was complete havoc,

And the economical disastrous situation

Put the russian aerospace industry

Into very hard conditions.

Connor: The mig design bureau

Was really left in a very difficult spot.

There were just no significant orders,

And so the attempts to improve the mig brand

Through the 1990s

Were done really on a shoestring.

Narrator: By the turn of the century,

Mig finds new life.

Russia elects vladimir putin, a former kgb officer

Committed to rebuilding russia's air force to its former glory.

Grant: Under putin,

Russia began to aggressively advance their technology

And build better engines, better missiles,

And integrate it all into the right jet fighter package.

Narrator: Putin allocates new funding

For military aircraft,

And in 2007, mig unveils its latest attempt

To catch up to the west-- the mig-35.

♪

Velovich: The mig-35 in essence is the mig-29,

But with better avionics, better weaponry,

And better maneuverability.

Narrator: With a price tag of just $45 million,

The mig-35 is less than half the price

Of america's newest fighter, the f-35.

Connor: The mig-35 is another attempt to gain the interest

Of nations that need to present a significant capability

But really are not intending to go toe to toe

With a first world airpower like the united states.

Narrator: But the mig has been underestimated before.

As tensions between the u.S. And russia continue to rise,

The mig threat remains.

♪

Whether in a deadly dogfight

Or a daring intercept,

The mig brings the fight no matter the odds.

Connor: It may not have been the most capable,

But it was certainly the most scrappy.

Narrator: Rugged, reliable, and revolutionary,

The mig has inspired more than just those who fly it.

Grant: The migs have compelled us to develop better tactics,

Train our pilots better, build superior aircraft,

And figure out better ways to control the air battle.

Narrator: In any fight, at any time,

The mig makes a lasting impression.

Velovich: When you ask any western person,

What is the soviet combat aircraft,

I think 99 percent would say mig.

Narrator: To some, an adversary;

To others, a savior.

But one thing is certain...

Whittenberg: The legacy of the mig is forever.