The MiG-35 is ready for battle

The Russian Air Force’s ‘ugly duckling’ has turned into ‘a beautiful swan’
Please introduce with you the article about weapons – military technical equipment of the familiar Russian military expert, missile engineer Vladimir Tuchkov.

The article was published on “Svobodnaia Pressa” on May 9, 2021. Here is the content: Multi-purpose fighter MiG-35 (Image: Marina Lystseva / TASS) The fourth generation multi-role fighter will be mass produced soon. To be honest, it was only a small amount. But this type of aircraft will have very bright prospects not only in the Russian Air Force, but also in the world military aviation equipment market. And here are the comments of the head of the director of programs MiG-29M, MiG-35 and other light multirole aircraft of the “MiG” Group. Mushegh Baloyan When talking to a TASS reporter about the near future of this model: “The MiG-35 is currently in the state testing phase, with preliminary conclusions to allow the production of the first batch of aircraft. Test pilots loved this model very much because it was easy to maneuver and greatly simplified. There are also some problems arising in the process of operating aircraft, but we (Group “MIG”) together with the customer, the Ministry of Defense in time to resolve all problems “. This MiG-35 aircraft did have a dizzying fate. It is designed-built when the Russian aircraft-building corporation “MiG” is literally feverish for the word. There were very serious problems in financing projects because the Sukhoi Design Bureau, which also makes fighter jets, then pulled all the “financial” blanket toward him. And the consequences of the lack of money are the headaches related to human resources. Those issues touch even the top management of the group — they have not been around for long in their positions. In the mid-2000s, the MiG-35 was unexpectedly listed for a massive tender to buy 126 Indian fighters. However, the proposed MiG-35 at that time was indeed “raw” because it was built in haste. Furthermore, it is equipped with some clearly outdated systems. Bidding is really an adventure. Because at that time, the MiG-35 was not even in service of the Russian Air Force and still not mass produced, so its fate in the bidding was already determined – who dared to quit. Money to buy “crab in the hole” (original – “buy cat in a sack”)? Therefore, this plane was not even on the final list, it was eliminated in the first round. The evaluation panel has listed a series of “weaknesses” of the MiG-35- up to 14 points. All of the above “weaknesses” are not disclosed. However, something has leaked through open sources. The “disparage” is mainly related to the engine because its features are “not in line with the stated” in the bid. And for “Zhuk” radar – according to the announcement, the antenna is an active phase network antenna, however, the “MiG” group has installed a passive network. But six of the planes were built to take part in today’s tests – those were completely different fighters. Between them and the “ugly Indian ducklings”, the only remaining similarity was the fuselage. And now the MiG-35 is again participating in India’s second bid. The results of the first bid can only please the French, because they have sold 36 Raphales to India for an exorbitant price in the country. Once again, the MiG-35 will fight German, French, Swedish and American fighters in India. But for now, it can be said without fear of being bragged that they were “wonderful swans”. The aircraft is equipped with a new version of the RD-33MK engine with outstanding technical and operational features. Its rear combustion (acceleration) thrust increases to 9,400 kgf. The engine uses fully digital control system and plasma ignition method. That means it now meets all requirements for 5th generation aircraft engines. In addition, another engine version can be installed if the customer wishes to- – it has a thrust vector changing nozzle on two planes. It is no coincidence that the MiG-35 was chosen by the stubborn “Strizhi” aerobatic squadron and its pilots decided to switch to this model – because it was super maneuverable and easy to maneuver. . In aircraft-avionics equipment, several systems are also included in the 5th generation. For example, the “Zhuk-A” radar finally has an active phase array antenna. Now, the MiG-35 can detect enemy fighters at a range of up to 200 km. The resolution when taking topographic maps is 1 × 1 meter. MiG-29K The aircraft has an excellent power-to-weight ratio. The combat payload compared to the MiG-29 increased by 2 tons and reached 6.5 tons. It can strike both air and ground targets with the same efficiency because it is fully equipped with modern “air-to-air” and “air-to-ground” missiles. MiG-35 is capable of taking a record altitude in all aircraft participating in this auction of India – up to 330 meters per second. There is also a need to talk about combat radius – up to 1,000 km, and operating range of aircraft without aerial refueling – up to 3,000 km. It must be emphasized that the “technical vision organs” of the MiG-35 are much more diverse than that of the Su-35. The MiG-35 has not only one, but two optical navigation stations with channels of thermal imaging and television. An observation post in the front hemisphere to “serve” the air battles. The second station is designed to observe the ground surface which increases the fighter’s ability to fight against ground targets. The engineers of the “MiG” Group also solved the problem of modernizing this aircraft in an optimal way. Aviation electronic equipment system has an open structure and uses a common data warehouse. This makes connecting new devices as easy as possible – as there is no factory setup and error correction required. Everything is done on the same principle as connecting a new external device to the computer – plugging in the connector, and the operating system recognizes the device and puts it in a general working configuration. The MiG-35 is the second Russian fighter (after the Su-57) to utilize artificial intelligence (AI). Start with some “basic” action – for example, reminding pilots of the imminent danger of maneuvering or when any of the aircraft’s systems are malfunctioning in combat. And even very complex missions. For example, AI can just “look” at a part of an object in the air or on the ground / at sea to be able to immediately determine which type of aircraft or ship, of whom. AI radically interferes with the operation of all systems under special circumstances. For example, if the pilot is unable to control the aircraft due to an injury, the AI ​​can control the aircraft from any distance to the airport and land. In non-emergency conditions, the AI ​​can “advise” the pilot on the use of one or a certain weapon or conduct necessary maneuvers. But despite the plane’s obvious advantages, the Russian Defense Ministry doesn’t seem to trust it. That is why, so we signed a preliminary agreement to buy only 24 units. Yes, that is from now until 2028. But, of course, there are plenty of grounds to believe that this skepticism will vanish at the end of the tests. Currently, the Russian Defense Ministry is working with the “MiG” Group “eagerly” to test the MiG-35. Either way, the deployment of mass production of these machines will be an “inevitable objective”. Because it is necessary to gradually replace 120 MiG-29s, many different variants currently in the equipment of the Russian Air Force. In addition, many different countries also have the MiG-29 and the Air Force of those countries also wants to renew their lineup of light fighters. And so, an additional fifty potential orders could be counted. Yes, there is also a possibility that the MiG-35 will win India’s tender to buy 110 fighter jets. The fighter’s factory-level flight tests were conducted throughout 2017. In order to conduct state-of-the-art flight tests, the aircraft factory in Lukhovitsy built six MiG-35s – three MiG-35S single-seater and three MiG-35UB trainers. And for almost two years now, the six aforementioned aircraft have been tested in many different flight modes. They will themselves be handed over to the “Strizhi” airborne aerobatic squadron as mentioned above. Le Hung- Nguyen Hoang (Translate)