MiG-21FM; The two-seat trainer version of the Mikoyan Design Bureau MiG-21.
MiG-23UB: The two-seat trainer version of the Mikoyan Design Bureau MiG-23.
MiG-29: The Mikoyan OKB’s first “fourth generation” fighter, equal in performance to U.S. F-16 and F/A-18 aircraft; NATO designation, Fulcrum.
MVD: Soviet acronym, Ministry of the Interior.
nakaclass="underline" Russian, standby.
NKVD: Soviet acronym, People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, the predecessor of the KGB, Stalin’s main “organ” of terror and repression.
NO-193: The pulse-Doppler radar on the MiG-29.
nomenklatura: The official elite of Soviet society, whose positions were listed on secret registries.
oblast: Soviet designation for local district, corresponding to American county.
OKB: Soviet acronym for military design bureau, often named for the chief designer.
ogon: Russian, firing (a weapon).
OMON: Soviet acronym for Interior Ministry special troops, the infamous Black Berets.
Osobii Otdeclass="underline" “Special Department,” the KGB counterespionage division assigned to all units of the Soviet military.
Osobist: A member of the Osobii Otdel.
P-39: The Bell Air Cobra fighter of World War II; under Lend Lease it was the Soviet Kobra.
Partkom: Soviet acronym, Party Committee, of any civil or military organization.
Pilot tube: A pressure-sensitive instrument to measure an aircraft’s airspeed.
Po-2: A Soviet World War II biplane night bomber.
podyezd: Russian, staircase (the entrance of an apartment building wing).
poligon: Soviet acronym, a weapons testing range.
ponyaclass="underline" Russian, “Roger,” message acknowledged.
pusk: Russian, “Launch.”
prezant: Russian slang, a small bribe.
pulse-Doppler radar: Radar that identifies and tracks moving targets; its ability to “lock” onto an enemy aircraft can be “broken” by maneuvers that cancel the relative differential speeds between the aircraft involved.
PVO: Soviet Air Defense Forces.
RC-135: U.S. military version of the Boeing 707, which has many aerial tanker and electronic intelligence variants.
RD-33: The standard turbofan engine of the MiG-29.
RDF: Radio Direction Finding instruments, variations of the standard “radio compass.”
Redeye: A U.S. infrared-homing antiaircraft missile.
RN-40: A tactical Soviet nuclear bomb.
Rodina: Russian, “Motherland.”
RPM: Revolutions Per Minute, usually engine speed.
rubege: Russian, range (distance to target).
Ruslan: Soviet military designation for the Tskhakaya Air Base in Georgia.
shlem: Russian, helmet.
Shturmovik: Russian, “fighter-bomber.”
Spetsnaz: Russian acronym, “special purpose troops.”
split-S: An air-combat maneuver involving a steep descent and reverse of direction, partially inverted.
SPO-15: A Soviet military aircraft radar-warning receiver.
SRZO: A Soviet “Information Friend or Foe” instrument.
stall-limiter: An automatic mechanical system actuated when a fighter surpasses a maximum angle-of-attack and loses aerodynamic lift and “stalls.” The stall-limiter thrusts the control stick forward to reduce AOA.
Su-25: A Sukhoi Design Bureau attack jet similar to the U.S. A-10.
Su-27: A Sukhoi Design Bureau multipurpose military jet aircraft. The Su-27 has higher performance than the MiG-29, but is also larger and heavier.
supersonic: Air speeds above Mach 1.0.
tochka opori: Russian, “fulcrum."
trans-sonic: Air speeds approaching Mach 1.0.
valuta: Russian, hard currency.
Voyentorg: Soviet acronym, Military Exchange Store.
vozdukh: Russian, air or aerial.
VVS: Soviet acronym, Air Force.
wingroot: The point at which an aircraft’s wing joins the fuselage; wingroots are often extended in high-performance fighters to produce lift at high AOAs.
Yak-28: A Yakovlev Design Bureau Air Defense fighter.
ZAGS: Soviet acronym, State Wedding Palace.
zampolit: Soviet acronym, Political Officer.
Ziclass="underline" Soviet automobile manufacturer most associated with luxury limousines.
ZU-23: Soviet design 23mm antiaircraft cannon.
zveno: Russian, “link,” a four-aircraft military formation.
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