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On February 28 Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Rostislav Apollosovich Belyakov passed away, just days before his 95th birthday. Little known outside Russia until the late 1980s, Belyakov was the brilliant aeronautical engineer behind much of the successful MiG jet fighter dynasty. Despite taking on the running of the Mikoyan OKB (design bureau) from 1971, Belyakov remained very much a “hands-on” manager, leading or co-leading the design teams that produced the MiG-23, 25, 27, 29 and 31, which became the backbone of the Soviet/Russian air force. Born on March 4, 1919, Belyakov grew up in the town of...

Russian aircraft manufacturer RSK-MiG seems to be quietly at work developing a new, lightweight fighter concept that could be a single-engine, lower-tier complement to the Sukhoi T-50/PAK-FA fighter currently in developmental flight testing. Discussions about this MiG project have been around for some time, but speculation about the programme's status was raised by an announcement at the end of December that the single, flying prototype of the MiG 1.44 fifth-generation Multirole Fighter (MFI) project will be put in "conservation storage at a hangar located at the Gromov Flight Research Institute [LII]", according to an official statement by MiG. Up to...

MOSCOW, December 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will soon start developing a prototype of an advanced lightweight fighter jet to supplement fifth-generation T-50 aircraft, a top government official said Wednesday. The new aircraft is expected to be cheaper to produce and easier to maintain, but should also possess combat capabilities and performance characteristics comparable with those of heavy-class aircraft. “The development of a light-class fighter has been included in the current arms procurement program. It will be created,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, addressing the lower house of parliament. Rogozin, who oversees the defense and space industries, said light-class...

MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russian aircraft maker MiG has started flight tests of series-produced MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based fighter jets slated for delivery to the Russian Navy, the company said Tuesday. The Russian Defense Ministry signed a contract with MiG in February 2012 for delivery of 20 MiG-29K single-seat and four MiG-29KUB two-seat carrier-based fighter aircraft. MiG is expected to deliver the first four aircraft by the end of 2013.The aircraft will operate from Russia's sole serving carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, based in Murmansk with the Northern Fleet. The Admiral Kuznetsov currently operates Sukhoi Su-33 naval fighter aircraft. The MiG-29K...

South Korea seeks stealth jet edge while North's MiGs age (Reuters) - South Korea's decision to reject a bid by Boeing (BA.N) to supply 60 warplanes and to re-issue a tender was made in the interests of stealth technology but may not be justified given North Korea's weak air capabilities, experts said. Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) F-35A, previously considered too expensive, has shot to the front of the race for a multi-billion dollar deal after the Defence Ministry singled out a fifth-generation fighter as the preferred option. Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle, the only bid within budget, had been poised to win...

Russian navy signs for MiG-29K fighters Russia has signed a contract to acquire 20 MiG-29K carrier-based fighters and four MiG-29KUB trainers. MiG confirmed on 29 February that defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov and MiG general director Sergei Korotkov had signed the contract. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Deliveries will be made between 2013 and 2015, with the aircraft to be operated from the Russian navy's lone carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, serving with its Northern Fleet based in Murmansk. The vessel currently operates Sukhoi Su-33 naval fighters. "The signature of this contract is a real step in fulfilling our...

Russia to modernize 60 MiG-31 interceptors by 2020 The Russian Air Force will receive over 60 modernized MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor aircraft by 2020, the Defense Ministry said. A modernization contract was signed by the ministry and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation in December last year. “We are planning to upgrade more than 60 MiG-31 interceptors to the MiG-31BM version by 2020,” Air Force spokesman Vladimir Drik said last week. Relatively few MiG-31s have been modernized to the MiG-31BM version since the heavy interceptor entered service with the Russian Air Force in 1982. The modernized version is fitted with upgraded avionics and...

MiG-29 production enters transformation By Vladimir Karnozov RSK MiG is beginning to wind down production of its "classic" MiG-29 design, as it completes a final batch of the aircraft for Myanmar. The company's plants in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Lukhovitsy will shift to producing the newer MiG-29K/KUB/M1/M2/35 unified platform. The manufacturer showed 24 classic airframes in the final assembly shop at its Moscow factory during a 3 August visit. The majority were incomplete examples for Myanmar, while two were Indian air force fighters undergoing modernisation to the MiG-29upg configuration. RSK MiG says three aircraft have been delivered to Myanmar, with...

Will Russia's MiG abandon the Indian race? RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik The Indian tender for 126 MMRCAs (medium multi-role combat aircraft) to replace its ageing MiG-21s was announced long ago, but only now is the real intrigue unfolding. Competition between two main rivals - the United States' F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Russia's MiG-35 has been stiff. The intrigue heightened after Russia announced its MiG-35 would not be on display at an air show in Bangalore. Many experts took the absence of a "real live" MiG as a sign that Russia was pulling out of the race. Leading entries...

Russia could deliver the first modernized MiG-29 fighter jet to India as early as in 2011, the head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said on Wednesday. India signed a $960 million contract with Russia in 2008 to upgrade its five squadrons of 69 MiG-29 fighters, which have been in service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) since mid-1980s. "The first upgraded plane, I think, will be delivered in 2011," Mikhail Pogosyan said on the sidelines of the Aero India 2011 air show, which opened on Wednesday in Bangalore. "The whole upgrade program will be carried out on schedule agreed...

The RSK MiG-29UPG had its maiden flight at the Gromov LII airfield near Moscow on 4 February. The MiG-29UPG has been developed by RSK MiG at the request of the Indian Air Force (IAF). A Russian-Indian contract, worth $964 million, was signed on 7 March 2008 to upgrade 63 IAF MiG-29s. Six MiG-29s, including four single and two twin-seaters, will be upgraded at the RSK MiG facilities in Russia while the remaining 57 are to be fitted at the IAF's eleventh aircraft repair plant in India.

Given the huge potential in military avionics, Indian aerospace firm Axis Aerospace and Technologies (AAT) and Russian defence exporter FGUP Rosoboronexport Monday announced they have signed an agreement to start a joint venture focusing on avionics for IAF's front line Sukhoi SU-30 and MiG-29 fighter jets, as also military helicopters. Apart from these Russian-origin platforms, the JV will also work on the new fighter jet from the Mikoyan stable, the MiG-35, which is one of the contenders in India's $10.4-billion tender for 126 combat aircraft. 'The JV will focus on creation of cutting-edge technology for aerospace and defence applications in...

Russia's MiG corporation on Friday carried out the first test fight of a MiG-29 fighter modernized under a contract with the Indian Air Force (IAF). "On February 4, 2010, a MiG-29UPG fighter carried out its first test flight. The flight lasted for an hour and was flawless," MiG said in a statement. The IAF has awarded the MiG corporation a $900 million contract to upgrade all of its 69 operational MiG-29s. These upgrades include a new avionics kit, with the N-109 radar being replaced by a Phazatron Zhuk-M radar. The aircraft is also being equipped to enhance beyond-visual-range combat ability...

The Croatian Ministry of Defence has invited representatives from Russian fighter aircraft manufacturers to evaluate whether any of Croatia's fighter planes could be modernized. Representatives of the Russian company MiG and Rosoboronexport agency will be coming to Croatia to evaluate the condition of several 20-year-old planes that they manufactured. Croatia is looking to either modernize its current stock or buy some new or used planes. Eight planes should be modernized according to the Ministry of Defense's plan, costing the state some 20 million dollars. Considering that these planes are more than 30 years old, only the manufacturer can decide whether...

Russia's MiG corporation on Friday carried out the first test fight of a MiG-29 fighter modernized under a contract with the Indian Air Force (IAF). "On February 4, 2010, a MiG-29UPG fighter carried out its first test flight. The flight lasted for an hour and was flawless," MiG said in a statement. The IAF has awarded the MiG corporation a $900 million contract to upgrade all of its 69 operational MiG-29s. These upgrades include a new avionics kit, with the N-109 radar being replaced by a Phazatron Zhuk-M radar. The aircraft is also being equipped to enhance beyond-visual-range combat ability...

former Ukranian MiG-29 fighter has become the second privately owned MiG-29 to fly, taking to the air over Washington six years after it left Eastern Europe. Capable of speeds of Mach 2.2 and altitudes of nearly 60,000ft, the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29 “Fulcrum” is a far cry from the 1927-57 vintage airplanes that Historic Flight Foundation specializes in restoring. However, the opportunity to work on something so different was an irresistible lure to John Sessions, the founder of Historic Flight, who wanted to verify that a complex high-performance aircraft could be restored by following the same rules and guidelines as a...

News: Face of Defense: B-52 Tail-gunner Recalls MiG Downing Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs Courtesy Story By Air Force Staff Sgt. Don Branum U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - If the landmarks here could speak, the B-52 Stratofortress bomber sitting near the academy's north gate would have quite a Vietnam War story to tell. The crew of the "Diamond Lil," a B-52D, tail number 55-083, took off from Utapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield on Christmas Eve in 1972. The crew's mission was to bomb the North Vietnamese railroad yards at Thai Nguyen as part of Operation Linebacker...

The ministry of defence (MoD) is negotiating price for a draft supplement agreement (DSA) with Russia’s RAC-MiG Corporation to buy additional equipment to overcome the teething problems it is facing in keeping its MiG-29K fleet flying. MiG-29K aircraft, which were inducted into Indian Navy in February 2010, have been suffering tyre bursts whenever emergency brakes are applied during landing. Emergency brakes are applied whenever there is hydraulic failure and DSA is expected to solve this problem. A naval officer said, “Emergency application is jamming brakes and increasing the risk of tyre skidding, and eventually bursting.” DSA will entail supply of...

A Russian-made MiG-29K fighter aircraft, recently inducted into the Indian Navy, developed a technical problem at INS Hansa base in Goa but caused no casualties, naval officials said here Monday. Flag Officer Commanding Goa Area (FOGA) Sudhir Pillai said the pilot had to apply emergency brakes on the airstrip when the error occurred, resulting in a tyre burst. "There was a hydraulic failure of the aircraft because of which the pilot had to apply emergency brakes," Pillai told PTI MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multi-role fighter aircraft, which is recently inducted in Indian Navy and based at INS Hansa.

Russia has grounded all of its MiG-31 interceptors after one crashed. The 200 or so in service will be examined to see if there is a common defect that might cause others to crash. MiG aircraft in general have a reputation for these kinds of problems. Mig-21s, MiG-23/27s and MiG-29 all have had these design defect and quality control issues. Now the curse comes to the MiG-31. Three years ago, Russia completed testing of the latest version of its MiG-31 interceptor. The MiG-31 is itself an upgrade of the MiG-25, which was developed to deal with the American B-70 bomber....