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| Yak-36 | |
|---|---|
| Name | Yak-36 |
| Type | VTOL prototype |
| Manufacturer | Yakovlev Design Bureau |
| First flight | 1963 |
| Introduced | prototype |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Forces |
Yak-36 The Yak-36 was a Soviet experimental vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau in the early 1960s to explore short/vertical takeoff concepts and counter Western VTOL programs such as the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 and Vought F-8 Crusader derivatives. It served as a technology demonstrator linking earlier Soviet jet programs like the MiG-15 and MiG-21 with later operational designs such as the Yak-38 and influenced carrier aviation considerations involving the Soviet Navy and the Ministry of Aviation Industry (USSR). The program intersected with Cold War research initiatives at institutes including the Gromov Flight Research Institute and the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI).
The Yakovlev effort began after post‑World War II VTOL interest seen in Western projects like the Hawker P.1127 and the Dassault Mirage IIIV, prompting Soviet ministries including the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Ministry of Defence (Soviet Union) to commission studies. Yakovlev tapped engineers with prior work on the Yak-25 and Yak-27 families and coordinated with turbine specialists from institutions such as the Kuznetsov Design Bureau and the Lyulka (experimental) design bureau. Funding and technical priorities were debated within the State Committee for Science and Technology (USSR) and among leadership figures in the Soviet Air Forces, with conceptual briefs referencing jet lift concepts tested at the TsAGI test rigs and records from the Gromov Flight Research Institute.
Yakovlev chose a simple twin‑engine layout using two turbojets with vectoring or deflected thrust, influenced by research into thrust‑vectoring pioneered by teams that had worked on Ilyushin Il-28 and Sukhoi Su-7 projects. Early mockups and wind tunnel models were evaluated alongside contemporaneous Soviet efforts such as the MiG-105 lifting body experiments and the naval carrier studies for the Kiev-class aircraft carrier concept.
The Yakovlev design featured a compact fuselage with a high-mounted swept wing, twin-siphoned intakes, and two vertically arranged nozzles for lift and cruise, using engines derived from production turbojets like those in the MiG-21F programs. Structural design work drew on experience from the Yak-25P interceptor and manufacturing methods from the Tupolev Tu-4 refurbishments. Flight controls integrated mechanical and hydraulic systems with stability augmentation informed by researchers at TsAGI and control specialists from the NPO Elektromechaniki.
Cockpit ergonomics reflected standards used in front-line types such as the MiG-19 and Su-7B, with avionics suites adapted from testbed instrumentation employed in Gromov instrumentation aircraft. Landing gear and undercarriage design referenced carrier and naval trials linked to the Sovremenny-class destroyer support studies and the Soviet Navy's deck handling research. Materials choices incorporated aluminum alloys used in the Tupolev Tu-16 and emerging titanium elements from programs like the MiG-25 where heat resistance and weight savings were priorities.
Flight testing began at facilities associated with the Gromov Flight Research Institute and flight crews included test pilots experienced on types such as the MiG-21 and Su-9. Early hover trials were compared with Western demonstrations by teams who had studied the P.1127 trials and documentation from V/STOL symposiums attended by Soviet delegations. Evaluation criteria were set by officers from the Soviet Air Forces and naval representatives, balancing lift, transition to forward flight, and control authority measured against test programs like the Rockwell XFV-12 assessments in the West.
Data from the Yak-36 tests informed control law development similar to that adopted later for the Yak-38 and contributed to work at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), where computational and wind tunnel correlations were conducted. Test flights highlighted thermal management and ingestion issues previously observed in experiments such as the Dassault Balzac V trials, prompting engineering changes to intakes and nozzle deflectors under guidance from the Ministry of Aviation Industry (USSR).
As a prototype, the Yak-36 did not enter mass production or wide operational service with front-line units like the Soviet Air Defence Forces or the Soviet Naval Aviation. Its operational legacy was primarily research-oriented: data and pilot experience were transferred to the Yakovlev Design Bureau's follow‑on programs and to the development teams of the Soviet Navy's carrier aviation planners. Political and procurement decisions involving the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Ministry of Defence (Soviet Union) ultimately favored the straight adoption of derivative designs, leading to the operational introduction of the Yak-38 on Minsk-class carriers instead of Yak-36 production fleets.
The program also influenced export and licensing discussions within the Warsaw Pact framework and briefings to other Soviet allies such as East Germany and Poland, where aerospace delegations visited Yakovlev test sites. Tactical doctrines considered during the Yak-36 evaluation referenced carrier strike concepts that also appeared in planning documents for the Soviet Pacific Fleet and the Northern Fleet.
Several experimental and conceptual variants were explored within Yakovlev and by collaborating bureaus such as Soviet helicopter and rotorcraft institutes and the Klimov Design Bureau. Studies included single‑seat and two‑seat trainer conversions, navalized airframe adaptations for ski‑jumper and STOL operations as later seen on Kiev-class designs, and proposals with alternative powerplants comparable to engines used in the MiG-23 and Su-27 developmental families. Concepts for armed versions examined payloads and weapons integration similar to systems on the Su-17 and NATO counterparts but no armed Yak-36 variant reached series production.
A number of Yak-36 prototypes were preserved and later displayed at museums and exhibits linked to aerospace heritage organizations such as the Central Air Force Museum in Monino and the Ulyanovsk Aviation Museum. Surviving airframes have been exhibited alongside contemporaries like the MiG-21 and the Yak-40 to illustrate VTOL development; these displays are curated by institutions including the Gromov Flight Research Institute museum teams and regional history museums in Moscow Oblast and Ulyanovsk Oblast. Restoration projects have involved specialists from the Yakovlev Design Bureau archives and veterans of test programs who worked on earlier projects such as the Yak-25.
Category:Soviet experimental aircraft