The MiG-17 is a subsonic fighter plane developed by the Soviet Union to improve the high-speed issues the MiG-15 encountered. It became the first Soviet fighter jet to feature an afterburner which greatly improved its performance. The result was one of the most successful transonic fighters ever developed. Ultimately, the MiG-17 was flown by over 30 countries over a timespan of three decades; it was also built under license outside of the USSR in Poland and China.
The MiG-17 is most famous for its role in the Vietnam War where it was pressed into dogfights against 3rd generation U.S. fighter planes. Its ambush and tight quarter dogfight tactics were so successful that the U.S., Soviet Union, and European countries were forced to re-evaluate their own aerial combat tactics and rethink future plane developments.
By the 1970’s, the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) and U.S. Air Forces Weapons School were established to teach pilots new air-to-air combat tactics from lessons learned. The F-16 Viper was a direct result of the lessons learned in Vietnam while fighting the maneuverable MiG-17; it's no coincidence that the F-16 was also the first fighter jet that was able to out-rate the MiG-17.
Headed by two pilots, the Red Star Simulations' primary focus from the start was on accurate flight dynamics. Using Soviet wind test tunnel data, performance manuals, U.S. testing results from a captured MiG-17F, and with the aid of several current MiG-17 pilots, the MiG-17F Lim5 module for DCS has been developed with the most realistic simulated flight dynamics ever produced on a MiG-17 plane.
Flight dynamics key features:
Turn and climb performance, 0 to 40,000+ feet
Dynamic stall and flap performance
Slow-speed/high-AOA drag
High-G drag
Dynamic engine (speed/altitude/thrust) performance
Plane key features
ASP-4N gunsight with SRD-1M gun radar
SPO-2 Sirena RWR
SRO-2 Khrom IFF
ARK-5 ADF radio and navigation
Standard and Egyptian upgrade weapons
Please follow the news for more information about this fascinating addition to DCS.
