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The Mig-29 Fulcrum was a Soviet Made fighter developed to compete with the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
Description[]
The Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29A (NATO code name Fulcrum) is a twin-engine, super-sonic, high-performance fighter. When the Soviets got wind of the USAF's "FX" program, which resulted in the F-15 Eagle, they realized that the new fighter presented a serious threat to the (then) current line of fighters, such as the MiG-21 and MiG-23. Work began on 'Product 9' designated MiG-29A, began in 1974, with fight taking place on October 6, 1977. The "Fulcrum" features many advanced aerodynamic features that give the aircraft superb fighting capability despite having a very short combat radius. The MiG-29's wings are swept-back and tapered with square tips. LERXs are wide and curved down to the front. LERX begins on the nose below the mid-mount point, and the wings’ trailing edges end at a high-mounted point. Twin jet engines are mounted low and to the sides of the fuselage. Diagonal-shaped air intakes give a box-like appearance. There are large exhausts. The fuselage is made of a long, thin, slender body with long, pointed drooping nose. There is a high-mounted bubble canopy. The tail fins have sharply tapered leading edges, canted outward with angular, cutoff tips. Flats are high-mounted on the fuselage, movable, swept-back, and tapered with a negative slant. The MiG-29 is a widely exported aircraft, flown by such nations as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and many former Soviet republics.
The Fulcrum is also available for MiG-29 tourist flights in Russia after financial problems of the gouvernment in the 1990ies.
Operators[]
- Algeria - 69 MiG-29S in service [1]
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh - 14 MiG-29SEs and two MiG-29UBs in service.
- Belarus
- Bulgaria - 14 MiG-29S and 4 MiG-29UB, modernized in 2009.
- Cuba
- Eritrea
- Hungary - has 12 in service as of January 2010.
- India
- Indian Air Force has 63 upgraded MiG-29 Baaz in service. The upgrade of all MiG-29 "Baaz" to latest MiG-29SMT standard is in process which will include latest avionics, Zhuk-ME Radar, engine, weapon control systems etc.
- Indian Naval Air Arm has 45 MiG-29Ks on order as of January 2010, with 6 in inventory as of July 2010.
- Iran - 20 MiG-29A and 4 MiG-29UB
- Kazakhstan
- Malaysia - To be retired
- Myanmar - 10 MiG-29Bs and two MiG-29UBs in service as of November 2008. Ordered 20 more MiG-29SMT fighters in 2009.
- Peru - 19 in service as of Nov. 2008.
- North Korea - 40 in service as of Nov. 2008. 12 initially bought from Belarus in 1995 and a follow up order of 18 MiG-29SE plus 3 new from Russia in 1996. Two were lost in accidents.
- Poland - 36 in service
- Russia - 406 in service as of Nov. 2008. An additional 100 MiG-29S (SE for the export designation) and another 34 MiG-29SMT are new from an order rejected from Algeria.
- Serbia - Four in service
- Slovakia - 21 MiG-29s received, 12 in active service.
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan - 12 on order, and 11 in service as of November 2008.
- Syria
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine - 80 as of January 2010.
- United States - Evaluation only.
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
Former Operators[]
- Czechoslovakia - Received 18 MiG-29 and two MiG-29UB aircraft. Six Czechoslovak MiG-29s were capable of delivering nuclear weapons but equipment needed for carrying these weapons was removed as part a CFE treaty. All passed onto successor states.
- Czech Republic - Inherited nine MiG-29 and one MiG-29UB. All sold to Poland in 1995 in exchange for 11 W-3A Sokol helicopters.
- East Germany - 24 absorbed into the Luftwaffe upon reunification
- Germany - One crashed, one on display, 22 sold to Poland
- Iraq
- Israel - leased from an unknown country, used for aggressor training.
- Moldova - not operational, six MiG-29S in storage.
- Romania - 17 MiG-29 and five MiG-29UB were delivered in 1989—1990.Withdrawn from service in 2003.
- Soviet Union
- Yugoslavia
Specifications[]
General characteristics[]
- Crew: One
- Length: 17.37 m (57 ft)
- Wingspan: 11.4 m (37 ft 3 in)
- Height: 4.73 m (15 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 38 m² (409 ft²)
- Empty weight: 11,000 kg (24,250 lb)
- Loaded weight: 16,800 kg (37,000 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 21,000 kg (46,300 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Klimov RD-33 afterburning turbofans, 8,300 kgf (81.4 kN, 18,300 lbf) each
Performance[]
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.25 (2,400 km/h, 1,490 mph) At low altitude: Mach 1.25 (1,500 km/h, 930 mph)
- Range: 1,430 km (772 nmi, 888 mi) with maximum internal fuel
- Ferry range: 2,100 km (1,800 mi) with 1 drop tank
- Service ceiling: 18,013 m (59,100 ft)
- Rate of climb: initial 330 m/s average 109 m/s 0–6000 m (65,000 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 442 kg/m² (90.5 lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight: 1.01
Armament[]
- 1 x 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon with 150 rounds
- 7 Hard points: 6 x pylons under-wing, 1 x under fuselage
- Up to 3,500 kg (7,720 lb) of weapons including six air-to-air missiles — a mix of semi-active radar homing (SARH) and AA-8 Aphid, AA-10 Alamo, AA-11 Archer, AA-12 Adder, FAB 500-M62, FAB-1000, TN-100, ECM Pods, S-24, AS-12, AS-14
Avionics[]
- Phazotron N019, N010 radars
Fulcrum/Flanker Family[]
- Mikoyan MiG-29K Fulcrum-D
- Mikoyan MiG-35 Fulcrum-F
- Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker
- Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker-C
- Sukhoi Su-33 Sea Flanker
- Sukhoi Su-35 Super Flanker
- Sukhoi Su-37 Terminator
Similar Development[]
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Lockheed Martin F-16I Sufa
- McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle
- Dassault Mirage 2000
- Panavia Tornado
The original article can be found at Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum and the edit history here.