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Russia offers latest MiG fighter jet

Vladimir Radyuhin

MiG-35 has advantage over its rivals

MOSCOW: Russia has upped its bid to win the Indian tender for the purchase of 126 multi-role combat aircraft by offering the latest MiG fighter jet.

The MiG-35 fighter showcased at the Moscow International Air Show last week will have at least one crucial advantage over its competitors in the IAF tender — Dassault Aviation's Mirage 2000-5, Lockheed Martin's F16, and the SAAB's Gripen.

"It is the world's only plane to be powered by an all-axis thrust vectoring engine that enables it to fly safely at any angle of attack," said MiG corporation head Alexei Fyodorov.

The MiG-35 (export name of the MiG-29M/M2 version) is powered by the innovative RD-33OVT engine, whose nozzles can move in all directions. This makes it even more manoeuvrable than the Russian-built Su-30MKI, the world's first fighter jet with up-and-down thrust vectoring engines, which forms the backbone of the IAF's fleet of long-range fighter jets.

The MiG-35 belongs to the 4++ generation of fighter jets and incorporates many features of the 5th-generation aircraft. New avionics, a multi-mode radar and advanced weapons have more than doubled the plane's combat punch compared to the base-version MiG-29. Like its predecessor, the MiG-35 is a nuclear-capable aircraft and can be armed with a full range of airborne weapons.

It carries 50 per cent more fuel than the basic MiG-29 thanks to additional tanks built into the body and wings and can be refuelled in flight. The plane uses new radar-absorbent coatings that reduce its detection by enemy radars by a factor of five.

India's acquisition of the top-of-the-line MiG-35 and a license for in-depth technology transfer will stimulate the upgradation of the IAF's family of MiG aircraft, which includes MiG-21, MiG-27 and MiG-29, Mr. Fyodorov said.

"If we win the tender we will jointly create with India a more technologically advanced aircraft than even the Su-30MKI," he said.

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