Mecha Profile: Mig-21 Balalaika - Muv-Luv Alternative

After the BETA landing, the Chinese forces were devastated after just weeks of conflict. The War against the BETA officially started, and the alien invasion slowly spread throughout the Eurasia continent. That prompt the USSR to quickly adopted the means to fight them: The Tactical Surface Fighters. Based on the F-4 Phantom provided by the U.S, the Soviet’s Mikoyam Guluvich Design Department created their own domestic version: The MiG-21 Balalaika.

I. Development History:
– In April 1973, the BETA landed on Earth and were engaged by the army of the People’s Republic of China. However, only 2 weeks after combat, the BETA revealed the laser-class which rendered the air force completely useless. In 1974, the F-4 Phantom – the first TSF of humanity – was deployed on the frontline and rapidly gained popularity. As the Soviet was extremely close to the BETA Hives and they showed a tendency of heading towards them, they put in as much order for the F-4 as possible, as well as acquiring licensed production of the Phantom.

– To further tune the F-4 to the climate of Europe, the Mikoyam Guluvich Design Bureau has refurbished the F-4 – into the F-4R. Even so, further modifications were made to the unit to the point that it looked completely different and gained a new name: the MiG-21 Balalaika. The Balalaika isn’t produced from factories straightout but rather F-4Rs converted, and each unit usually take one day for conversion. Even though the parts for the F-4R and MiG-21 are very similar and the Balalaika technically belong to the F-4 lineage, the MiG-21 was regarded as the Soviet Union’s first domestically developed TSF by the USSR.

– The MiG-21 was widely used across Europe by many Warsaw Pact nations, including satellite countries of Russia like East Germany. Most notably used by the Volks Squadron of the 43rd Tactical Armored Division during the assault on the Minsk Hive. The Volks Squadron was the first to ever infiltrate the inside of a Hive and brought back valuable information of a BETA Hive. With only 14 surviving pilot returning, the information that they brought back was dubbed the Volks Data – served as the basis for all future counteroffensive operations – and their combat data was used to develop new-gen TSF as well.

– In 1980, the Mikoyam Guluvich Design Bureau developed the MiG-23 Cheburashka as a successor to the Balalaika and rolled it out to the Soviet Union’s army.

II. Technical Specs & Armaments:

– The MiG-21 Balalaika stands at 17.7-meter tall, utilizing two K-25-300 Jump Units, which are shaped like Balalaikas. The original F-4R was a refurbished F-4 Phantom with enhanced cold-climate specs, simplified sub-arms and reinforced body frame and joints. The MiG-21 improved upon it with reduced weight and improved operational endurance.

– The shoulder block and leg armor was simplified and reduced in terms of size. The shape of the tail fin on the Jump Units was also changed to increase aerodynamic and mobility for the craft. As the Soviet recognized that close-combat with the BETA is unavoidable, the head module was also reduced in size to lower the risk of it being destroyed, as well as the addition of the signature wire cutter on the front of the main sensor cover.

– The MiG-21 used the standard Soviet Assault Cannon – the WS-16 Assault Cannon. Initially the WS-16A has a 20mm auto-cannon and a 105mm smoothbore attachment, it was increased to 36mm and 120mm respectively in the WS-16B version. It still retain the CIWS-1A Close Combat Knife from the F-4R. For melee-combat, it used the Type-77 Battle Halberd imported from China. It is a heavy-tipped blade designed for powerful strikes.

III. Variation:
The Mig-21 Balalaika has many local variants – including a Chinese one, as the Soviet Union has territories ranging from polar regions to vast deserts.

– MiG-21 Balalaika: The standard version that was converted from F-4R units.

– MiG-21 PF/P Balalaika: A version of the MiG-21 with enhanced electronic communications by enlarging the sensor mast on the head. This version was requested and developed by Jurgen Bernhard of the East Germany to counter the electronic inteference from anti-laser heavy metal clouds during Laserjagd operation.

– MiG-21bis: The refined and final production model of the Balalaika.

– J-8 (Jian-8): A Chinese variant of the MiG-21. The head module is modified by adding an armored round-monitor head module to further reduce risk to the main sensor. The unit was developed and manufactured by Chinese company Shenyang.

IV. Gallery: