Howard Gethin/MOSCOW
The Indian air force is considering options for an upgrade of its Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters and MiG-29UB conversion trainers, with informal talks already underway with Russia's Sokol manufacturing plant.
The upgrade proposals are "part of ongoing discussions with the plant", says India's air attache in Moscow, Air Commodore P K Barbora. "This would include new weapons and avionics, but it would depend on funding and there is no fixed date," Barbora stresses.
Other suppliers may also participate in an upgrade project, he adds, citing India's Su-30MKI and MiG-21 programmes as earlier upgrade programmes. "Maybe the Russians would be the prime contractors, but like in the Su-30MKI programme, the avionics could be Israeli, French or British," he says. Israel's Elbit and Aerostar of Romania, are both offering MiG-29 upgrade packages, although it is understood that Elbit and Israel Aircraft Industries have not been approached on any participation.
The Nizhny Novgorod-based Sokol plant was responsible for building India's original batch of five MiG-29UB conversion trainers, and has been prime contractor for the delayed MiG-21 upgrade, which has completed proving trials and will be handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics next year.
India's MiG-29s are all early "A" model (article 9.13) aircraft, with only a limited (non-precision guided) ground attack capability and NO-19 radar, compatible with semi-active Vympel R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles. Modernised MiG-29 variants, such as the Russian air force's MiG-29SMT and the naval MiG-29K variants recently ordered by India, have more advanced radars of the Phazotron Zhuk/Advanced Zhuk family with a range of air-to-ground modes, modern glass cockpits with multi-function displays, and capability for modern armaments including the Vympel R-77 active-homing air-to-air missile.
India was involved in negotiations during the early 1990s for the MiG-29M, intended as the mid-life update for the MiG-29 for the Russian air force, but there was no order and India began developing its own Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) which is yet to fly.
The continuing delays with LCA mean that India's air force will soon be short of modern air-superiority aircraft without a MiG-29 upgrade. Their only other modern fighters are about 60 Dassault Mirage 2000s and 40 Su-30MKs.
Source: Flight International
