Upgraded MiG-29 To Take On F-16 In The Refurbished Fighter Jet Market

MiG-35

The MiG-29, one of Russia’s most exported military jet has been upgraded in India that expands its capabilities from an air superiority fighter to a multi-role aircraft. The Indian Air Force (IAF) revealed the upgrade, called the MiG-29UPG ahead of the Air Force Day celebrations in October 2018.

The upgrade by the IAF, one of the biggest operators of MiG-29 in the world has opened up the possibility of similar technological enhancements and life extension projects for the venerable Russian aircraft which many believe was ahead of its time when it was launched in the 1980s.

The global inventory of MiG-29s is estimated at 750-850 aircraft, all of which are a potential upgrade possibility. The MiG-29UPG upgrade in India is expected to cover some 65 aircraft. Another major MiG-29 upgrade is being done in Ukraine. Ukrainian Lviv Aircraft Repair Plant is upgrading the country’s MIG-29 fighter jets with air-to-ground and surface attack capability making it a multirole fighter aircraft.

At a time when the US-made F-16 fighter jet, upgraded to the Block 70 format is finding markets all over the world, particularly as replacement for older generation F-16s and MiG-29s, the Soviet origin jet could turn out to be a worthy and highly cost-effective option to the F-16.

Given the distinct ability of fighter aircraft purchases to sap military budgets, many governments are increasingly preferring upgrading legacy aircraft with capable airframes such as the F-16 and the MiG-29 to expand their features and to increase service life by about 50%. The cost of converting the IAF MiG-29 to the MiG-29UPG is said to be US$15 million each, far short of the cost of buying new aircraft which could be upwards of US$50 million for an all-new MiG-35, the Russian successor to the MiG-29.

According to Rodney Lee, Senior Product Manager, Aerospace & Defense Business Unit, IFS Software of Sweden, the “There is an increasing trend in military organizations to extend the lifecycle of aircraft and other equipment.”

While the F-16 has forged ahead with offering a complete upgrade package of the Block 70 format including active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the MiG-29 is still to offer an AESA radar but is on schedule to have one in 2019-20.........continue reading: HERE

Russian company designs new radar for MiG-35 fighters

The MiG-35 has been testing the new Zhuk-AE/FGA-35 modified radar with AESA which is based on active phased array-based radio Photonics” (ROFAR)

MiG-29 SMT Fulcrum Multirole Fighter Aircraft: Details

MiG-29K/MiG-29KUB Carrier Based Multirole Fighter Aircraft: Details