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ARMS acquisition from two o reven three countries is an expensive policy, it has permitted the Arab Republic of Egypt Air Force (EAF) and the wider armed forces to survive sanctions on arms imposed by different American and Soviet governments. The military coup that ousted President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, replacing him with Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, led to an unofficial arms sanction imposed by the US government.
Prior to this, Cairo had faced other hurdles in procuring advanced weapons – for example, the EAF had not been able to buy AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) to arm its F-16C/Ds. Instead, Rafale EM/DMs from France and MiG-29M/M2s from Russia will now fill any gaps in the fighter inventory.
Search for capability:
The EAF has acquired Block 52 F-16C/Ds and Rafale EM/DMs primarily to replace its ageing fleet of F-16A/Bs, Block 15 aircraft delivered under the Peace Vector 1 Foreign Military Sales programme between 1982-84. The advanced Fighting Falcons and Rafales will also replace Mirage 5s and even Mirage 2000EM/BMs in the near future. Meanwhile, the MiG-29M/M2 was selected to replace the veteran fleet of MiG-21M/MF/UMs. The last examples of these Soviet-made fighters remained in service with 45 Squadron and 49 Squadron, part of the 104th Fighter Brigade at Al Mansoura air base, until 2015.
Attempts to modernise the EAF increasingly had to be undertaken without US military support once President Morsi had been removed. Thanks to financing from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Cairo was able to begin negotiations with Paris and Moscow in November 2013. In March 2014 Egypt officially requested a squadron of MiG-35s – comprising 24
aircraft – to succeed the EAF’s MiG-21s.
EGYPTIAN MiG-29M/M2 Swifts of the Nile:
For decades the Arab Republic of Egypt Air Force has maintained a strategy of procuring new fighters from different sources. One of the latest examples of this is the MiG-29M/M2, as Babak Taghvaee discovers.
Self-defence equipment:
For self-defence the Egyptian MiGs will be equipped with onboard radar warning receivers and chaff /flare dispensers. They are also wired to carry the G- to J-band (4-18GHz) TsNIRTI MSP-418K digital radio-frequency memory (DRFM) active jamming pod. This store was developed in the early 2000s and first displayed at the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) in 2003. It was claimed that Yemen was the first customer of the pod, for installation on its MiG-29SMTs. The DRFM capability allows the jammer to digitally capture hostile radar
waveforms (from a maximum of four radars simultaneously) and then replay altered
copies with a power output of 100 watts. The radiated emissions deceive the enemy radar
by creating an imaginary target the same size and shape of the host aircraft.
The pod weighs 330lb (150kg) and has dimensions of 9.0 x 8.8 x 149in (230 x 225 x 3,800mm). Coverage is provided across 120° azimuth and 60° elevation.
It is believed that Egypt has ordered 24 of these pods with deliveries to begin next year.
The pods can be installed under stations 9 and 10 on the MiG-29M/M2.
At this time, the MiG-35 programme was still in the development phase.
MiG-29M/M2:
Negotiations over possible MiG-35 procurement continued and in early February 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Cairo to meet his counterpart and discuss a potential large-scale arms deal. Acquisition of a new fighter to replace the Fishbeds had been frequently delayed. The EAF was now in a hurry to buy the MiG-35 before its development had been completed.
In the end, Egypt opted for a quicker solution. Instead, it would buy a simplified version of the MiG-35, designated as the MiG-29M/M2. This differed from the original MiG-29M (9.15) developed in the 1990s and was based on a pair of prototypes – single-seat ‘741’ and two-seat ‘747’ – that had been manufactured in 2011 with a view to winning an order from Syria.
In April 2015, a $2bn contract was signed between the two countries. This included the sale of 46 MiG-29M/M2s. Deliveries were to begin in 2016 and be completed in 2020.
After a delay of several months, the first aircrafts were rolled out of the Russian Aircraft Corporation’s (RAC’s) Production Centre No 1 in Lukhovitsy, Moscow Oblast, in October last year.
These initial aircrafts were single-seat MiG-29M with the EAF serial ‘8704’ and two-seat MiG-29M2 with the three-digit Russian code ‘811’. After the completion of test flights at the factory the jets were transported to Zhukovsky to undergo the final stage of evaluation before delivery. They were soon joined at Zhukovsky by a second MiG-29M, Russian-coded ‘801’.
On April 27 this year, Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Mohammad Al-Keshky, announced that the EAF’s first batch of new MiG-29M/M2s had been handed over in Russia. Delivery to Egypt of the first four aircraft was expected to take place in September. Russian state news agency TASS then reported on September 12 that “some fighter jets have been already sent to Egypt”.
Weapons and systems:
In terms of combat capability, the EAF MiG-29M/M2s have a major point of difference with the ‘ultimate’ MiG-35. The Egyptian jets lack the Zhuk-AE active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, after its manufacturer, Phazotron-NIIR, delayed the launch of quantity production. The Zhuk-AE is an X-band radar that can track up to 30 targets and attack the six
highest-priority targets simultaneously. Early versions of the radar were installed and tested on the first MiG-35 prototypes, but their demonstrated 87-99-mile (140-160km) target detection range did not meet the needs of the Russian defenceministry.
Phazotron-NIIR is currently working on a more powerful variant using a greater number of transmit/receive modules to provide a maximum detection range of 155-174 miles (250-280km).
When Egypt ordered its new MiGs, the Zhuk-AE was still under development.
Furthermore, the AESA-equipped R-77M air-to-air missile (AAM) with a range of 121 miles (195km) was also unavailable.
The MiG-29M/M2s ordered by Egypt were therefore to be provided with less advanced avionics and weapon systems and the alternative Zhuk-MF radar. This is based on the Zhuk-ME as installed on advanced Russian Aerospace Forces and Russian Navy MiG-29s and proven in combat during the Russian military intervention in Syria. The Zhuk-ME has a
maximum detection range of 68-75 miles (110-120km) against an airborne target with a radar cross-section of 54sq ft (5m2). As installed in the MiG-29M/M2, the radar provides a genuine beyond-visual-range (BVR) engagement capability using R-77-1 active-radar-homing (AA-12 Adder) AAMs.
The Egyptian MiGs are also equipped with the NPK-SPP OLS-UE infrared/electro-optical sensor, a downgraded export version of the OLS-UEM. This is designed to search, detect and track a wide range of airborne targets within a range of 9-34 miles (15-55km) using its 320 x 256 pixel IR sensor and a 640 x 480-pixel TV camera. The OLS-UEM also incorporates a laser rangefinder that gives a high degree of accuracy at ranges between 0.1 and 12 miles (200m and 20km). It also provides the weapons system with data for the launch of IR-guided AAMs. It may be expected that the downgraded OLS-UE has a reduced target detection range.
A wide array of precision-guided weapons is available for the MiG-29M/M2. These include TV-guided KAB-500Kr bombs, Kh-29T (AS-14 Kedge) air-to-surface missiles as well as laser-guided KAB-250LG-E and KAB-500L bombs.
All these weapons are understood to have been ordered by Egypt, along with unguided munitions including general-purpose iron bombs.
Delivery schedule:
As of 2013 the EAF was the largest MiG-21 operator in North Africa, with a fleet of fewer
than 50 moderately upgraded MiG-21M/MF/UMs. Most were in service with the 104th Fighter Brigade at Al Mansoura AB.
In May the following year F-16C/Ds began to replace the MiG-21s, and at this time it was planned to fully equip the 104th Fighter Brigade with ‘Vipers’ by the end of
2015. However, the Obama administration halted deliveries of F-16s in October 2013
and they only resumed in March 2015.
In October 2014 Egypt transferred three MiG-21MFs (‘8226’, ‘8427’ and ‘8618’) to the
Libyan National Air Force (LNAF). This service had recently lost several of its MiG-21bis/
UMs in accidents, mostly due to technical failures, after launching Operation Dignity against Islamist and Jihadist militias. The following February, two more MiG-21Ms were delivered to the LNAF, followed by three more examples in March and April 2015.
Instead of additional F-16s the 104th Fighter Brigade received all 12 of the EAF’s surviving
Alpha Jet MS2s in June 2016. These were to be used temporarily for the close air support role. However, it is now unclear whether the EAF still plans to equip the 104th Fighter Brigade with MiG-29M/M2s.
As of January, eight more MiG-29Ms and seven more MiG-29M2s were under construction at Lukhovitsy, in addition to the two MiG-29Ms and single MiG-29M2 already completed.
During MAKS 2017 an unnamed Rosoboronexport official announced that the first three MiGs would be delivered to Egypt in September, with more expected to follow in December.
It is thought that the fighters will be shipped to Egypt on board Volga Dnepr An-124-100 transports.
RAC MiG has already offered to upgrade Egypt’s MiG-29s and equip them with more advanced Zhuk-AE AESA radar when this piece of equipment enters series production next year.
Another proposed modernisation could follow in 2020, providing refinements to the new radar, software and some avionics systems. The EAF MiG-29s are expected to remain in service until 2060.
http://uploaded.net/file/laj0onb0
Prior to this, Cairo had faced other hurdles in procuring advanced weapons – for example, the EAF had not been able to buy AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) to arm its F-16C/Ds. Instead, Rafale EM/DMs from France and MiG-29M/M2s from Russia will now fill any gaps in the fighter inventory.
Search for capability:
The EAF has acquired Block 52 F-16C/Ds and Rafale EM/DMs primarily to replace its ageing fleet of F-16A/Bs, Block 15 aircraft delivered under the Peace Vector 1 Foreign Military Sales programme between 1982-84. The advanced Fighting Falcons and Rafales will also replace Mirage 5s and even Mirage 2000EM/BMs in the near future. Meanwhile, the MiG-29M/M2 was selected to replace the veteran fleet of MiG-21M/MF/UMs. The last examples of these Soviet-made fighters remained in service with 45 Squadron and 49 Squadron, part of the 104th Fighter Brigade at Al Mansoura air base, until 2015.
Attempts to modernise the EAF increasingly had to be undertaken without US military support once President Morsi had been removed. Thanks to financing from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Cairo was able to begin negotiations with Paris and Moscow in November 2013. In March 2014 Egypt officially requested a squadron of MiG-35s – comprising 24
aircraft – to succeed the EAF’s MiG-21s.
EGYPTIAN MiG-29M/M2 Swifts of the Nile:
For decades the Arab Republic of Egypt Air Force has maintained a strategy of procuring new fighters from different sources. One of the latest examples of this is the MiG-29M/M2, as Babak Taghvaee discovers.
Self-defence equipment:
For self-defence the Egyptian MiGs will be equipped with onboard radar warning receivers and chaff /flare dispensers. They are also wired to carry the G- to J-band (4-18GHz) TsNIRTI MSP-418K digital radio-frequency memory (DRFM) active jamming pod. This store was developed in the early 2000s and first displayed at the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) in 2003. It was claimed that Yemen was the first customer of the pod, for installation on its MiG-29SMTs. The DRFM capability allows the jammer to digitally capture hostile radar
waveforms (from a maximum of four radars simultaneously) and then replay altered
copies with a power output of 100 watts. The radiated emissions deceive the enemy radar
by creating an imaginary target the same size and shape of the host aircraft.
The pod weighs 330lb (150kg) and has dimensions of 9.0 x 8.8 x 149in (230 x 225 x 3,800mm). Coverage is provided across 120° azimuth and 60° elevation.
It is believed that Egypt has ordered 24 of these pods with deliveries to begin next year.
The pods can be installed under stations 9 and 10 on the MiG-29M/M2.
At this time, the MiG-35 programme was still in the development phase.
MiG-29M/M2:
Negotiations over possible MiG-35 procurement continued and in early February 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Cairo to meet his counterpart and discuss a potential large-scale arms deal. Acquisition of a new fighter to replace the Fishbeds had been frequently delayed. The EAF was now in a hurry to buy the MiG-35 before its development had been completed.
In the end, Egypt opted for a quicker solution. Instead, it would buy a simplified version of the MiG-35, designated as the MiG-29M/M2. This differed from the original MiG-29M (9.15) developed in the 1990s and was based on a pair of prototypes – single-seat ‘741’ and two-seat ‘747’ – that had been manufactured in 2011 with a view to winning an order from Syria.
In April 2015, a $2bn contract was signed between the two countries. This included the sale of 46 MiG-29M/M2s. Deliveries were to begin in 2016 and be completed in 2020.
After a delay of several months, the first aircrafts were rolled out of the Russian Aircraft Corporation’s (RAC’s) Production Centre No 1 in Lukhovitsy, Moscow Oblast, in October last year.
These initial aircrafts were single-seat MiG-29M with the EAF serial ‘8704’ and two-seat MiG-29M2 with the three-digit Russian code ‘811’. After the completion of test flights at the factory the jets were transported to Zhukovsky to undergo the final stage of evaluation before delivery. They were soon joined at Zhukovsky by a second MiG-29M, Russian-coded ‘801’.
On April 27 this year, Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Mohammad Al-Keshky, announced that the EAF’s first batch of new MiG-29M/M2s had been handed over in Russia. Delivery to Egypt of the first four aircraft was expected to take place in September. Russian state news agency TASS then reported on September 12 that “some fighter jets have been already sent to Egypt”.
Weapons and systems:
In terms of combat capability, the EAF MiG-29M/M2s have a major point of difference with the ‘ultimate’ MiG-35. The Egyptian jets lack the Zhuk-AE active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, after its manufacturer, Phazotron-NIIR, delayed the launch of quantity production. The Zhuk-AE is an X-band radar that can track up to 30 targets and attack the six
highest-priority targets simultaneously. Early versions of the radar were installed and tested on the first MiG-35 prototypes, but their demonstrated 87-99-mile (140-160km) target detection range did not meet the needs of the Russian defenceministry.
Phazotron-NIIR is currently working on a more powerful variant using a greater number of transmit/receive modules to provide a maximum detection range of 155-174 miles (250-280km).
When Egypt ordered its new MiGs, the Zhuk-AE was still under development.
Furthermore, the AESA-equipped R-77M air-to-air missile (AAM) with a range of 121 miles (195km) was also unavailable.
The MiG-29M/M2s ordered by Egypt were therefore to be provided with less advanced avionics and weapon systems and the alternative Zhuk-MF radar. This is based on the Zhuk-ME as installed on advanced Russian Aerospace Forces and Russian Navy MiG-29s and proven in combat during the Russian military intervention in Syria. The Zhuk-ME has a
maximum detection range of 68-75 miles (110-120km) against an airborne target with a radar cross-section of 54sq ft (5m2). As installed in the MiG-29M/M2, the radar provides a genuine beyond-visual-range (BVR) engagement capability using R-77-1 active-radar-homing (AA-12 Adder) AAMs.
The Egyptian MiGs are also equipped with the NPK-SPP OLS-UE infrared/electro-optical sensor, a downgraded export version of the OLS-UEM. This is designed to search, detect and track a wide range of airborne targets within a range of 9-34 miles (15-55km) using its 320 x 256 pixel IR sensor and a 640 x 480-pixel TV camera. The OLS-UEM also incorporates a laser rangefinder that gives a high degree of accuracy at ranges between 0.1 and 12 miles (200m and 20km). It also provides the weapons system with data for the launch of IR-guided AAMs. It may be expected that the downgraded OLS-UE has a reduced target detection range.
A wide array of precision-guided weapons is available for the MiG-29M/M2. These include TV-guided KAB-500Kr bombs, Kh-29T (AS-14 Kedge) air-to-surface missiles as well as laser-guided KAB-250LG-E and KAB-500L bombs.
All these weapons are understood to have been ordered by Egypt, along with unguided munitions including general-purpose iron bombs.
Delivery schedule:
As of 2013 the EAF was the largest MiG-21 operator in North Africa, with a fleet of fewer
than 50 moderately upgraded MiG-21M/MF/UMs. Most were in service with the 104th Fighter Brigade at Al Mansoura AB.
In May the following year F-16C/Ds began to replace the MiG-21s, and at this time it was planned to fully equip the 104th Fighter Brigade with ‘Vipers’ by the end of
2015. However, the Obama administration halted deliveries of F-16s in October 2013
and they only resumed in March 2015.
In October 2014 Egypt transferred three MiG-21MFs (‘8226’, ‘8427’ and ‘8618’) to the
Libyan National Air Force (LNAF). This service had recently lost several of its MiG-21bis/
UMs in accidents, mostly due to technical failures, after launching Operation Dignity against Islamist and Jihadist militias. The following February, two more MiG-21Ms were delivered to the LNAF, followed by three more examples in March and April 2015.
Instead of additional F-16s the 104th Fighter Brigade received all 12 of the EAF’s surviving
Alpha Jet MS2s in June 2016. These were to be used temporarily for the close air support role. However, it is now unclear whether the EAF still plans to equip the 104th Fighter Brigade with MiG-29M/M2s.
As of January, eight more MiG-29Ms and seven more MiG-29M2s were under construction at Lukhovitsy, in addition to the two MiG-29Ms and single MiG-29M2 already completed.
During MAKS 2017 an unnamed Rosoboronexport official announced that the first three MiGs would be delivered to Egypt in September, with more expected to follow in December.
It is thought that the fighters will be shipped to Egypt on board Volga Dnepr An-124-100 transports.
RAC MiG has already offered to upgrade Egypt’s MiG-29s and equip them with more advanced Zhuk-AE AESA radar when this piece of equipment enters series production next year.
Another proposed modernisation could follow in 2020, providing refinements to the new radar, software and some avionics systems. The EAF MiG-29s are expected to remain in service until 2060.
http://uploaded.net/file/laj0onb0
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