MIG 29 Upgrade sanctioned

[Adux]

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/mig29-facelift-india-inks-major-deal/35775-3.html .

MiG-29 facelift: India inks major deal

ibnlive.com
Posted Sunday , March 11, 2007 at 15:55 Email Print

MAJOR DEAL: The MiG-29 upgrade will include installing beyond visual range air-to-air missiles.



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New Delhi: The Indian Air Force has inked a major deal to upgrade its 78 MiG-29 fighters.


Under the $800-million deal signed with a consortium of Russia's state-owned Rosboronexport and United Aircraft Corporation, the IAF's fleet of three squadrons of MiG-29 air superiority jets will get their service life extended from 25 to 40 years.


The IAF has seen its squadron strength plunging to an all-time low of 29 squadrons, as against its sanctioned strength of 45 squadrons.


The IAF is also in the final stages of negotiating a 1.5-billion euro deal with French company Thales for upgrading 52 of its Mirage 2000H fighters to extend their service life by 25 years.


The MiG-29 upgrade will include installing beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, new Klimov-33 engines with digital fuel injection, Phazotron Zhuk-ME phased array radar, an all- glass cockpit and aerial refuelling prods.


Initially, two MiG-29s will be sent to Russia for prototype development and the rest will be upgraded in HAL's Nashik-based Ozar plant.


"The upgradation will be completed by 2010," PTI quoted a defence ministry as saying.


The agreement also stipulates the setting up of a service centre in India for the MiG-29s. This centre will also look after the navy's carrier-borne MiG-29K fighters, the first of which will be inducted by the end of 2008.

 

[Bull]

This is great news. With Mirage 2000 also being upgraded we can operate these two for another 10 - 15 years and by then we wouild have LCS sin numbers and the PAK-FA.

 

[Muradk]

Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG began flight-testing the latest version of the naval MiG-29K Fighter. The Initial Aircraft to fly was a 2-seat MiG-29UB Variant.The new model is destined for service with the Indian Navy, Which ordered 16 Fighters.
Comprising 12 single-Seat MiG-29Ks and four MiG-29KUBs in 2004. The fighter are part of a $1.5bn package that includes the sale and conversion of the aircraft Carrier Admiral Gorshkov. Delivery of the fighter should begin this year and will be complete in 2009. India also holds an option for 30 additional MiG-29Ks. The upgrade includes double-slotted flaps and 2-section leading-edge flaps, operated by the aircraft's digital flight control system. The Flaps combines to improve the aircraft's low-speed handling characteristics. Additionally Krueger flaps on the wings leading-edge root extention provides additional lift at low speed for carrier approaches. The avionics package has also been completely redisigned and is based on the system developed for the MiG-29MT and MiG-29M2. It includes a wide-angle head-up display and 3 multi-funtion liquid crystal displays along with Sagem Sigma-95 GPS navigation kit, Thales Topsight helmet-mounted sighting system, and an Israeli Elta electronic warfare pod. The MiG-29K is fitted with the Phazotron Zhuk-ME radar, which offers both Air-to-Air and Air-to-Surface modes, and is powered by 2 klimov RD-33MKs which provide 7% more power that the earlier version. The fighter wepons package includes the R-77( AA-12'Adder')
medium-rangeand the R-73E(AA-11'Archer') Short-range air-to-air missiles, and the Kh-31A(AS-17 'Krypton') Air-to-Ground and Kh-35 AS-20 Kayak anti ship missiles but the wepons control system is also capable of handling
non-Russian wepons. 8 MiG-29 airframes are involved in testing various elements of the program alone with a ststic test rig, and production of the first 16 series aircraft is also underway. RSK MiG is also proposing MiG-29M2 as the MiG-35 to meet an IAF requirment for up to 126 fighters. Russia publicly unveiled the MiG-35 at the Yelahanka AB in Banglore.

 

[Adux]

Murad Sir,

They are both different programs, MiG-29K is very different to MiG-29SMT for the Navy. I hope they change the current engine in the airforce to the Sea Wasp of Navy

 

[Muradk]

Murad Sir,

They are both different programs, MiG-29K is very different to MiG-29SMT for the Navy. I hope they change the current engine in the airforce to the Sea Wasp of Navy

The modification they are going for I dont think they will change the engines but again you would know more what is going on in IAF than me.

 

[Adux]

Sir,

I am quite aware of the MiG-29K program, they have a beautiful Sea Wasp Engine. The current MiG-29A's of the IAF are a headache to the force, and I dont know much about their upgradation program to SMT. Looking at the History of IAF, I am sure they wont go for the Plain Vanilla Russian SMT, but rather an SMT which has Israeli and French inputs.I will try to dig up some more.

PS: If they dont Change the engine's then no amount of upgradation is good enough. Smoking RD-33, with their low uptime and low fuel ineffiency is the IAF biggest Nightmare, more than the avionics and Weapons capability.

 

[BATMAN]

low fuel ineffiency is the IAF biggest Nightmare, more than the avionics and Weapons capability.

Please clear, Do you mean low efficiency or low fuel consumption.
What about avonics and weapons are they so bad?

 

[Neo]

A reliable source informed me that the IN Mig-29K will not be MKI'sed as per agreement, its will be fitted with Russian avionics, radar and weapon suite.
Adu, can you confirm that?

 

[Adux]

Please clear, Do you mean low efficiency or low fuel consumption.
What about avonics and weapons are they so bad?

bad fuel efficency and bad uptime's, the IAF is not happy at all about the MIG-29A in its force.

 

[Adux]

Neo,

MIG-29K have French Components, Thales is involved in the TopSight fixing as well as some others.




Engine: Two Klimov/Sarkisov RD-33MK turbofans each producing 11,100 lbs dry thrust, 19,840 lbs thrust in reheat and 19,905 lbs thrust in an emergency reheat. Engines for the Indian Navy's MiG-29Ks will have smokeless combustors, an anti-corrosive coating, a total service life of 4000 hours with a basic overhaul time of 1000 hours and a short-time increased take-off-thrust rating.

Take Off Weight (Normal): 18,550 kg (40,895 lbs)

Take Off Weight (Maximum): 22,400 kg (49,383 lbs)

Maximum Speed: 1296 knots (1491 mph; 2400 km/h) - high altitude.
.......................670 knots (771 mph; 1240 km/h) - sea level.

Maximum Rate of Climb (at sea level): 17,760 metres/min (58,260 feet/min).

Operational Ceiling: 27,000 metres (88,580 feet).

Maximum Fuel Load: 5240 kg (11,552 lbs).

Maximum Combat Radius: 459 nautical miles (528 miles; 850 km) - with internal fuel.
..................................702 nautical miles (807 miles; 1300 km) - with external fuel tanks.
..................................1889 nautical miles (2174 miles; 3500 km) - with in-flight refueling.

Maximum Combat Load: 5500 kg (12,125 lbs).

Avionics: The MiG-29K/KUB will be equipped with Phazotron-NIIR Corporation's Zhuk-ME radar, which has a range of 150 km in detection mode and 130 km in tracking mode, against a target with a RCS (Radar Cross Section) of five square meters and can also fire missiles at four different targets simultaneously. The radar will have functions for operations in air-to-air and air-to-ground modes, using Thales' TopSight E helmet-mounted targeting system. Both variants will incorporate a ShKAl wide-angle monochrome HUD (Head-Up Display) and the 'K' variant will feature three MFI-10-7 high-performance liquid-crystal multi-function displays, while the 'KUB' variant will have seven such displays. The ShKAl HUD offers a 26° field of view, which allows the pilot to keep an eye on a much wider sector of airspace and use his weapons more effectively in that sector. The 6" x 8" liquid-crystal display has a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels and can illustrate a digital terrain map & tactical situation data (information about aerial and ground/surface targets), thus enabling the pilot to maintain situational awareness.

More Details : https://defence.pk/forums/showthread.php?t=3628