The corporation has set up a modern product range. With a new MiG-35 fighter RAC MIG has formed up a prospect product range to meet the market demand in the nearest and upcoming future.
This product range has been named as the “unified multifunctional combat aircraft family”. It includes MiG-29K/KUB shipborne fighter, MiG-29M/M2 and MiG-35 front-line fighters. Each of the above mentioned 4++ generation aircraft have been designed in a single and double-seat versions. Nowadays the serial production of MiG-29K/KUB has been started to fulfill the Indian Navy order for the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier.
The RAC MIG designers have been talking about three stages of the aircraft family unification. First of all, this is inside family unification between MiG-29K/KUB, MiG-29M/ M2 and MiG-35. All the fighters have the similar airframe, propulsion system as well as main aboard systems. All of them have been equipped with the digital fly-by-wire system with four-fold redundancy. All the aircraft have been covered by the united after-sales support system and will be facing the similar upgrade packages.
Second, the designers have succeeded the high-level of unification among the single-seat and double-seat aircraft. As for the construction elements, aboard equipment and weaponry, it comes to 100%. All the fighters use the unified cockpit canopy with an extra fuel-tank installation aboard the single-seater.
Third, RAC MIG is going to present a range of proposals to extend the unification level of the new fighters with the MiG-29 previous variants.
As for the avionics, the new MiGs have been changed dramatically in comparison with MiG-29 but the aircraft outlook has not been change a lot. Besides, several combat technical characteristics of the fighter have been radically changed also. For example, the aircraft external payload overcomes 6 ton, while the amount of the payload points was extended by 4in comparison with MiG-29. The fuel stock was extended by almost 50% to increase the aircraft range substantially. The new aircraft also enjoys the in-flight fueling system.
According to the RAC MIG regional director in India Mikhail Globenko, the main attention over MiG-29K and MiG-35 development has been paid to the aircraft reliability and serviceability. The flight hour cost of MiG-35 and MiG-29K in comparison with MiG-29 early versions has been decreased in almost 2.5 times.
Some parts of the new family fighters’ avionics has reached the 5th generation aircraft level. The share of such components has been increased over the latest modifications. While MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/M2 has been equipped with Zhuk slot-array antenna radar, the MiG-35 has become the first non-US fighter to be equipped with the active phased-array antenna radar (AESA). This radar has been designated Zhuk-AE and is the further development of the Phazotron-NIIR Kopyo and Zhuk family.
It should be mentioned that the MIG designers have a long-standing experience with electronic scanning employment as the first world fighter with such type of radar, namely MiG-31 went into serial production in 1979.
Besides the APhAR the new generation technologies have been employed within the passive electro-optical systems, first installed aboard the MiG-29K/KUB with a further development aboard MiG-35. Such technologies have been used initially aboard the Russian space equipment.
According to the RAC MIG the unified fighters weaponry will integrate the latest Russian technological developments, which has never been previously exported. Besides, MiG-35 could be adopted for the non-Russian aboard equipment and weaponry installation.
In the frame of the unified fighters family development RAC MIG has set up experimental aircraft for the prospect technologies testing. In the last years up to 10 experimental aircraft have been employed. Aboard one of them, namely MiG-29M OVT, all-aspect nozzle deflection technology has been tested to reach super-maneuverability. The thrust-vectoring engines installation is optional for the MiG-35 customers.
Nowadays, the new generation family fighters are in serial production with the aircraft earlier versions, for example MiG-29SMT. But according to the RAC MIG experts in future all the MiGs will be produced as the unified family members. The family itself is just at the initial stage of its life cycle and will be improved over a long-time with its avionics and weaponry capabilities. RAC MIG is going to offer its customers the new upgrade packages to bring the previously built aircraft close to the MiG-29K or MiG-35 capabilities.
According to the RAC MIG the MiG-35 will be demanded initially by the states to renew the existing fleet of MiGs. It will be supported by the active marketing policy including trade-in contracts as well as technology transfer, license production and further cooperation with the local industry.