Monday 3 December 2018

MiG to participate in the tender of the Indian Air Force purchase of 110 multi-role fighters

MiG-35 - Harry Bristow


"Beautiful combat aircraft": what potential has the latest Russian MiG-35 fighter


RAC "MiG" sent an application to participate in the tender of the Indian Air Force for the purchase of 110 multi-role fighters. This was announced by the head of the corporation, Ilya Tarasenko. The company is ready to deliver a Delhi supersonic MiG-35 fighter generation 4 ++. This machine is the latest development of the RAC "MiG" and significantly exceeds the capabilities of its predecessors. The leadership of the Russian Aircraft Corporation believes that the MiG-35 will replace the entire fleet of MiG-29s in the Russian Aerospace Forces and will be in great demand abroad.

The Russian Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation MiG sent a package of documents to the Indian side, envisaged in the tender for the supply of 110 multi-role fighters. According to the company's general director Ilya Tarasenko, a supersonic MiG-35 fighter of 4th generation ++ takes part in the competition.

“Currently, the Indian side is analyzing the submitted materials, according to the results of which a short list will be formed, which will include companies admitted to participate in the tender. We hope that the Indian side will make its preliminary selection in early 2019, ”Tarasenko told Interfax.

According to the military-analytical magazine Jane's Defense Weekly, the Indian Defense Ministry requires the participants of the competition to out of 110 fighters, 17 units were delivered ready-made, and the remaining 93 machines were manufactured in India in accordance with the Made in India initiative. Moreover, from the planes collected on the territory of the country, 82 units must be single, and ten - two-seater (combat training).

The delivery of the first fighters should begin three years after the conclusion of the contract. And a couple of years later, the Ministry of Defense of India expects to receive aircraft manufactured on its own territory. These deliveries will be made within seven years. Delhi also plans to receive from the partner a wide range of technologies. The total cost of the program for the purchase of 110 fighters is estimated at $ 15-18 billion.

In the mid-2000s, RSK MiG already participated in the Indian tender for the supply of 126 multi-role fighters. The competition for the Russian aircraft was made by Rafale (France), Eurofighter Typhoon (European consortium Eurofighter GmbH), F-16 (USA), JAS 39 Gripen (Sweden). The preference was given to the French cars. However, Delhi bought only 36 aircraft.

"High quality and reasonable price"

In addition, currently, MiG is negotiating with potential MiG-35 customers from Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Peru, Iraq, and Egypt. However, Ilya Tarasenko believes that the demand for a new fighter in the future will arise from most of the operators of the MiG-29, that is, about 20-30 countries of the world.

In a conversation with RT, the head of the Bureau of military-political analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, said that the new RSK MiG might be in demand in the Asian-Pacific region (APR) market, including in India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan.

“There is also a growing African market, which we have not yet appreciated. Plus South American states. Of course, in the APR countries there is a strong influence of the United States, which openly threaten sanctions for the purchase of Russian weapons. However, on the Russian side, high quality combined with a reasonable price for the customer. Domestic aviation products are 20% cheaper than their foreign counterparts, ”Mikhailov said.

The MiG-35 was demonstrated to the general public at the MAKS-2017 international aerospace show and the Army-2017 military-technical forum. The car was developed on the basis of the initiative Mig-29M / M2. At the same time, despite the resemblance, the MiG-35 is significantly different from its predecessor.

“This is a new complex, it is already close to the fifth generation. There are new technologies on the locator, on exploration. There is a new weapon, a new coating of the aircraft, which makes it invisible to the enemy. Therefore, all these characteristics attract so much, ”explained Tarasenko.

As stated earlier by the head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Yuri Slyusar, the MiG-35 was created to perform combat missions in the conditions of active radio-electronic countermeasures and high-density air defense. In this regard, the fighter significantly reduced radar visibility, increased flight range and the number of suspension points of weapons.

The first flight of the MiG-35 took place on November 24, 2016. Tests should be completed in 2019. According to Tarasenko, the capabilities of the corporation allow to produce up to 36 cars a year. Currently, RSK MiG is completing an order of the Russian Ministry of Defense for the production of six units.

“The approved state armaments program provides for further supply of MiG-35 aircraft - comments on the quantity and delivery time will be correctly addressed to our customer, the Russian Ministry of Defense. We are ready to completely replace the entire fleet of MiG-29 aircraft with new MiG-35s, ”Tarasenko stressed.

Answering last year's RT question about the impact of sanctions on the MiG-35 project, Ilya Tarasenko stressed that the restrictive measures of the West would not affect the fate of the fighter. According to him, “the aircraft was completely created from Russian components, from Russian materials”.

"Universal Machine"

The main advantage of the MiG-35 is its electronic equipment. First of all, we are talking about the “Zhuk-A” radar with an active phased antenna array (AFAR) developed by the Fazotron-NIIR corporation (Moscow). The power of the radar has almost doubled, and the mass has decreased from 240 to 220 kg.

AFAR is considered a more “sensitive” radar. It can operate at several frequencies simultaneously and in the most difficult weather conditions. This quality allows the active phased array to accompany dozens of targets, map the terrain and defend against enemy electronic disturbances.

Thanks to Zhuk-A, the target detection range on the MiG-35 has grown to 200 km. Also, the fighter was able to hit ground targets at a range of up to 60 km, air targets - up to 130 km, escort up to 30 targets, and fire at 8-10 objects.

Important changes affected the power plant. The MiG-35 is equipped with an upgraded turbojet dual engine RD-33MK with all-direction vector thrust control. The maximum take-off weight of the fighter increased to 23.5 tons, the combat load - up to 4.5 tons, the combat radius - up to 1.4 thousand km, the speed - up to 2.4 thousand km / h (about 2 Machs).

“The MiG-35 is a completely autonomous machine that can perform the entire range of combat missions: from tracking targets to their destruction by all types of aircraft munitions available in Russia. This is a universal machine. It is planned for use in all possible latitudes. It has a wide margin of survival: from -50 ° C to +50 ° C, it can act at high mountains, ”Mikhailov said in an interview with RT.

As the expert noted, the development of the MiG-35 took into account the operating experience of the MiG-29K / KUB shipboard fighter. Due to this, the length of the takeoff run of the MiG-29 with an afterburner can be 260 m. This quality gives the operator the opportunity to deploy domestic fighters on small airfields.

“We are approaching the fifth generation of fighters. Of course, the MiG-35 is a generation 4 ++ aircraft, but on its basis a next-generation vehicle can be created. This is an excellent combat aircraft, which embodies the best that is in the unique school of the MiG design bureau. I am sure that the MiG-35 will be in demand both in the Russian Aerospace System of the Russian Federation and abroad, ”Mikhailov noted.


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