Page 86 - Combat Aircraft (January 2020)

FIGHTER FOCUS // MIG-29 ‘FULCRUM’

of development of the much larger and the brunt of the ight test e ort. These The MiG-29K/KUB is equipped with Above left to right:
heavier Su-27K, later redesignated as shipborne ‘Fulcrums’ took to the air for the the KSU-9.41 quadruple-channel digital First customer
deliveries of the
the Su-33. rst time on January 20 and June 25, 2007 y-by-wire (FBW) ight control system MiG-29K/KUB took
In the event, the MiG-29K/KUB program respectively, while the rst production- with envelope protection, auto-throttle place in 2009.
was revived and turned into a success standard aircraft built for the Indian Navy and in- ight loads alleviation functions. After India, which
ordered 45 aircraft,
story in the late 2000s, only thanks made its maiden ight on March 18, 2008. It’s provided with a speci c mode for the variant was
to the huge investment from India at The production-standard MiG-29K/ improving stability and controllability purchased by the
the time. Major development work on KUB boasts an all-new wing, consisting during air-to-air refueling. Russian Navy,
which took 24 more.
the redesigned shipborne ‘Fulcrum’ — of large-size double-slot trailing-edge As many as 16 MiG-29K/KUBs were RAC MiG
with a redesigned fuselage, modi ed aps, double-slot leading-edge slats covered in the rst Indian order. Placed in
engines and an all-new avionics suite and drooping ailerons. It introduced the 2004, it was priced at $740 million. These The MiG-29K
and two-seat
— was largely completed by 2010. Serial so-called Krueger aps — small leading- aircraft were taken on strength by the MiG-29KUB have
production was launched two years edge vortex controllers extending from Indian naval air arm between 2009 and all-new avionics,
earlier and rst customer deliveries were wing root — used for low-speed stability 2011. The rst examples from the second completed thanks
to funding provided
reported in 2009. improvement by reducing oscillations on Indian contract for 29 aircraft, ordered by India. RAC MiG
The rst Indian order became a long- the glide path during landing approach. in March 2010, were delivered in 2012
awaited opportunity for the crisis-stricken This extensive and highly automated and the last was taken on strength in This image: The
MiG-29K and KUB
RAC MiG to launch development and wing mechanization would provide early 2017. are powered by
production activities by resurrecting the considerable reduction in approach The solid progress of the Indian Klimov RD-33MK
two decades-old shipborne ‘Fulcrum’ speed, vital for the pilot on nal approach MiG-29K/KUB program in the early Sea Wasp engines.
RAC MiG
program, which had been frozen during and when touching down the desk. 2010s eventually prompted the Russian
the early 1990s. The e ort resulted in a The internal fuel tanks were made MoD to place an order for 20 single-seat
shipborne aircraft (designated 9-41 for the much roomier than those of the baseline and four two-seat shipborne ‘Fulcrums’,
single-seater and 9-47 for the twin-seater), ‘Fulcrum’, holding 11,463lb (5,200kg) designated MiG-29KR for the single-
claimed to be very di erent from the rst- of kerosene, equal to 6,666 liters; a seater and MiG-29KUBR for
generation MiG-29K. conformal dorsal tank holds 858lb the two-seater. This
An all-new fuselage with extensive (390kg) or 500 liters in the fuselage mid- contract was inked
corrosion protection was developed as section aft of the cockpit. The MiG-29K in February
well as a good many new systems and single-seater additionally features a 2012 and
a more powerful ‘marinized’ derivative 1,082lb (492kg)/630-liter internal tank
of the RD-33K jet engine. Two pre- housed just behind the cockpit, while
production aircraft — one two-seater and the two-seater’s internal capacity is
one single-seater, using exactly the same seven per cent less than that of the
basic fuselage design — were built to bear single-seater.

86 January 2020 // www.Key.Aero

21/11/2019 20:54
80-87 MiG-29 pt2 C.indd 86 21/11/2019 20:54
80-87 MiG-29 pt2 C.indd 86