Page 80 - Combat Aircraft (January 2020)

PART TWO

EVELOPMENT OF THE longer-span ailerons extending further foreign object damage (FOD) protection This two-seat
MiG-29M — internally outboard. The tailplane was vastly system that was so characteristic of prototype was
the fi rst ‘Fulcrum’
designated as the 9-15 improved in order to be more e ective the original design, which made use of to receive
within the MiG OKB — was at high AoA, with a greater area and a intake doors and auxiliary air intakes; the MiG-35
launched as early as 1982. dogtooth discontinuity on the leading these were now replaced by newly designation. This
D The much more capable edge. Furthermore, the radome shape added fuel tanks. Additional fuel volume happened in 2007
when the aircraft
derivative boasted a signi cantly was altered to further contribute to the was provided by using the space was modifi ed as
redesigned airframe with additional aircraft’s stability in high-AoA ight. previously occupied by the cannon the technology
demonstrator
fuel capacity, combined with increased- The end result of these many ammunition box, which was now of with the Zhuk-AE
thrust engines and an all-new avionics aerodynamic changes and re nements reduced capacity (100 rounds, compared AESA radar. It
suite to enable a full multi-role capability. was that the MiG-29M was made to 150 for the baseline version). In this used the fuselage
of one of the
The 9-15 was based around a wholly unstable in the pitch axis for better agility, way, the MiG-29M boasted an increased original MiG-29M
new airframe with considerably further improving its already formidable internal fuel capacity of up to 5,800 liters prototypes,
improved aerodynamic performance, low-speed turning performance. This, in (1,500 liters more than the original 9-12 serialled ‘154’,
and saw use as
featuring a revised leading-edge root turn, necessitated the use of an analog version), providing 30 to 40 per cent a demonstrator
extension (LERX) design with sharp y-by-wire system instead of the simple more range. The reshaped, at spine for the Indian
leading edges to further improve the hydro-mechanical system found on the allowed some increase to the internal MMRCA fi ghter
competition.
complex vortices eld created by the rst-generation ‘Fulcrums’. fuel capacity and it accommodated a RAC MiG
airframe in high angle of attack (AoA) To increase internal fuel volume, the battery of built-in cha / are dispensers
ight. The new wing design boasted MiG-29M dispensed with the complex for 120 rounds.

80 January 2020 // www.Key.Aero

21/11/2019 20:53
80-87 MiG-29 pt2 C.indd 80 21/11/2019 20:53
80-87 MiG-29 pt2 C.indd 80