MiG-29K night ops on INS Vikramditya [VIDEO]

[Capt.Popeye]

Indeed, since entering service the IN have been very hush-hush about the Viky, I had expected them to show her off extensively given the huge coverage the entire saga had garnered to that point. It fits with their overall policy to remain out of the limelight I guess.

Not for nothing.... the Navy has been bestowed the moniker (in some quarters)of 'Silent Service'; it was even the 'Senior Service' once..

 

[Levina]

It is mind-boggling to me that they can actually carry out such ops in near pitch black conditions- you've got to have some serious b@lls to operate from a carrier at night!

Gosh!
Now i know why the pilots dont call it a "routine landing".

We still prefer the ski-jumps don't we??

 

[LordTyrannus]

One of the few navies in the world operating heavy weight twin-engined fighters from carriers. The only others right now are - US, French and the Chinese (sort of).

Russia also operates heavy twin engined fighter crafts from its admiral kuznezow Supercarrier.

Do you even know Russia? The Nation which of your most weapons are sourced from??

lel

world is such an irrelevant and ignorant place. now chinese and indians think they are somebody, while all their technology is based from Russian design bureus.

even new chinese stealth fighter J20 is based from russian designs.

lmao

 

[Gandhi follower]

Nightmare for pakistan

 

[Abingdonboy]

Russia also operates heavy twin engined fighter crafts from its admiral kuznetsov Supercarrier.

Do you even know Russia? The Nation which of your most weapons are sourced from??

lel

world is such an irrelevant and ignorant place. now chinese and indians think they are somebody, while all their technology is based fgrom Russian design bureus.

even new chinese stealth fighter J20 is based from russian designs.

lmao

From what I hear the Kuznetsov is only sporadically in service and whilst the RuN has recently ordered MiG-29Ks (following IN orders) you are yet to operationally deploy them on the Kuznetsov. The Russian carrier force was pretty badly decimated by the fall of the USSR and only recently have you been able to start to rebuild, even this effort is going to be hampered by Russia's new found economic difficulties.

We still prefer the ski-jumps don't we??

In so far as this is what was offered with the Vikramditya and it is easier to design and operate however in the long term the IN is definitely going for catapults on their future carriers, the first of which the IAC-II was recently just cleared by the DAC.

 

[LordTyrannus]

From what I hear the Kuznetsov is only sporadically in service and whilst the RuN has recently ordered MiG-29Ks (following IN orders) you are yet to operationally deploy them on the Kuznetsov. The Russian carrier force was pretty badly decimated by the fall of the USSR and only recently have you been able to start to rebuild, even this effort is going to be hampered by Russia's new found economic difficulties.




In so far as this is what was offered with the Vikramditya and it is easier to design and operate however in the long term the IN is definitely going for catapults on their future carriers, the first of which the IAC-II was recently just cleared by the DAC.

Kuznezows only mission will be protecting soviet err.. i mean Russian fleet against yankee air attacks, until Russian ICBMs, nuclear torpedos and Supersonic cruise missiles are fired and no longer can be stoped.

Kuznezow is now under overhaul, to install steam catapult, delete the obsolete anti ship rockets and install more fighter craft on it.

Also the engines will become nuclear.

Kuznezow will become a full nuclear CATOBAR supercarrier with more than 50.000 tons.

 

[Levina]

In so far as this is what was offered with the Vikramditya and it is easier to design and operate however in the long term the IN is definitely going for catapults on their future carriers, the first of which the IAC-II was recently just cleared by the DAC.

INS Vikramaditya launches a MiG 29 every 3 minutes which sounds good, but ski jumps increases the fuel consumption too.
Should we care as long as Chinese also prefer ski-jumps.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Kuznezow will become a full nuclear CATOBAR supercarrier with more than 50.000 tons.

Really? What fighters are you going to launch from it? Or is she becoming that "hybrid" CATOBAR design we have seen?

Launching a MiG 29 every 3 minutes sounds good, but ski jumps increases the fuel consumption too.
Should we care as long as Chinese also prefer ski-jumps.

The way around this is to launch with minimum fuel and maximum weapons load and then "top up" in the air from a "buddy refueller" (a MiG-29K in a tanker configuration) and then progress to the target.

This is a shortcoming of STOBAR though, hence why the IN are fixated on CATOBAR for the future.

 

[uparyupari]

Russia also operates heavy twin engined fighter crafts from its admiral kuznezow Supercarrier.

Do you even know Russia? The Nation which of your most weapons are sourced from??

lel

world is such an irrelevant and ignorant place. now chinese and indians think they are somebody, while all their technology is based from Russian design bureus.

even new chinese stealth fighter J20 is based from russian designs.

lmao

Chill out dude. Russia is still relevant today and so is your Tech. No one has denied Russia credit for you to be so touchy.

 

[LordTyrannus]

Kuznezow will have three steam catapults and can launch three twin engined fighter craft silmultanously.

latest versions of twin engines fighter craft and different other jets for anti naval warfare and surveilance will be installaed.

more than 50 aircraft.

 

[Indian Jatt]

Russia also operates heavy twin engined fighter crafts from its admiral kuznezow Supercarrier.

Do you even know Russia? The Nation which of your most weapons are sourced from??

lel

world is such an irrelevant and ignorant place. now chinese and indians think they are somebody, while all their technology is based from Russian design bureus.

even new chinese stealth fighter J20 is based from russian designs.

lmao

brother dont feel bad about it, what if some idiot missed on it.......Russia still stands second to non.......Indians will always stand by Russia........as Russia has stood by us

 

[LordTyrannus]

brother dont feel bad about it, what if some idiot missed on it.......Russia still stands second to non.......Indians will always stand by Russia........as Russia has stood by us

he is not idiot, he just forgotten to mention russia.

no problem

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

Taking Off In A MiG-29K From A Carrier At Night Is A Fiery Thrill
By Tyler Rogoway

​

The Indian Navy's young and potent MiG-29K fleet gives their long-awaited aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, a serious punch. India remains committed to simpler ski-jump instead of catapult configured carriers, and what is not great for a fighter's range and payload is fantastic for visuals, as you can see in the video below.​

Embedded media from this media site is no longer available

In many ways, the MiG-29K is the ultimate comeback kid. The earliest version of this MiG-29 Fulcrum derivative first flew in 1988. After the fall of the Soviet Union there were no funds available to field two carrier fighters for what was then Russia's rusting navy.

​

Mikoyan and Gurevich continued to tinker with their carrier capable MiG-29 over the years and by the mid 2000s, when India came shopping for a fixed wing aircraft carrier, the Mig-29K suddenly leaped back into life. During India's initial evaluations, the MiG beat out the current operational Russian naval fighter, the gargantuan Sukhoi SU-33.

After negotiating the refitting and purchase of the derelict Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov, India also purchased 16 highly evolved MiG-29Ks to fly off of it. As the program matured, India doubled down on the MiG-29K with another order of 25 examples. Russia, as part of its revitalization of its expeditionary forces, is also now ordering the MiG-29K to be deployed on its own carrier, the Admirial Kuznetsov, replacing the big but dated SU-33 entirely.

24 examples will be delivered to the Russian Navy by the end of 2015, although this number could substantially grow over time if Russia actually realizes its plans for expanded its naval power projection capabilities by adding additional aircraft carriers. At this time, such a proposition is still a paper one, but the MiG-29k is seen as the aircraft that Russia would build a multi-carrier force around.

It is very exciting to see the MiG-29 line continue to evolve and thrive in what is a very fickle and crowded international marketplace for fighter aircraft. The MiG-29K is a very different machine than its legacy brethren, even from the first prototype aircraft that took the designation some 26 years ago.

The MiG-29K features a totally redesigned wing and leading edge root extension, beefier landing gear, a modern glass cockpit and the proven and upgradable Zhuk-ME radar. It also carries much more gas than the "legacy" MiG-29 (40% more internal fuel), includes a full fly-by-wire flight control system, has true multi-role capability and includes a high-degree of sensor fusion, at least for a Russian design. All of this comes in a package with the ruggedness that is a hallmark of MiG designs. As a comparison, the MiG-29K is very roughly analogous to something between an F/A-18C/D Hornet and a early block F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

In the end, the MiG-29K seems like a rational mix of capability, size and cost (unit cost around $32M). It also offers the multi-role capability, relatively advanced weaponry and ability to act as a buddy tanker that have been lacking in past Russian naval fighter designs. Still, I would love to know what type of actual payload and range envelopes these machines can achieve when working off of ski-jump equipped aircraft carriers.

Regardless of the MiG-29K's actual combat radius or its ability to lift heavy loads off the boat, once it is airborne it represents a formidable and modern threat.

Tyler Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer who maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com

Taking Off In A MiG-29K From A Carrier At Night Is A Fiery Thrill

@Abingdonboy

 

[MiG-21]

That's cool! But actually the credit goes to Mikoyan engineers rather than pilots in most cases. Both the old MiG-29K and the old Su-33 have an automatic carrier landing feature which is used almost all the time. The pilots are only allowed to take control if the system doesn't obey the landing pattern. Ofcourse Russians were the first to do this. Dunno if modern western fighters have this feature. Oh and yes, ofcourse the modern MiG-29k has this feature as well.

This is made possible partly due to the airframe of the MiG-29 and Su-27 which are low drag high lift airframes, and very easy to handle for the analog computer on board(Digital in the modern Naval Fulcrum).

 

[SQ8]

It is mind-boggling to me that they can actually carry out such ops in near pitch black conditions- you've got to have some serious b@lls to operate from a carrier at night!

+ How does that aviator recover from an arrested night landing on a carrier so quickly that he is ready to go for a nighttime take-off immediately after??

Nothing new, night traps have been done since the days of the US Navy;s WW2 operations.. back in those days it took actual balls. Today's naval operations are much more automated and with well set procedures.
That does not however take away from the unnerving idea of having to hook a wire that you cannot see on a piece of metal about the size of a football field whilst flying a jet around 155 knots.

That being said, the true horror story is one I remember as a child from a IAF M2K pilot I met at a relative's house in Sharjah.. who recounted a IN SHAR pilot who landed his jet in bad weather around twilight amidst a pitching Viraat. Myth or reality, that took brass cojonies. Since the SHAR(like all harriers) can only hover for around 90-120 seconds before its engine will overheat or something of the like. .By contrast the Mig-29K pilots have it relatively easy there.