While production of the all-new MiG-29M/ MiG-35 gathers pace, Combat Aircraft looks at the history of the ‘Fulcrum’, older versions and upgrades of which remain in widespread service around the world.
MIG-29 | FIGHTER FOCUS
ON JANUARY 27, 2017 a large group of foreign military attachés and media arrived at Lukhovitsy, some 100km (62 miles) south-east of Moscow, to witness the official presentation of Russia’s new MiG-35 fighter. At the same time, it was an occasion to consider that the history of the ‘classic’ MiG-29 had come to an end. In December 2016, the Russian Aircraft Corporation (RSK) MiG delivered to Russia the last of 14 MiG-29SMTs ordered in 2014. These are also the final MiG-29s that employ ‘stock’ airframes remaining from the Soviet era. From now on, only the newer MiG-29K/M and MiG-35 versions remain in production.