The MiG-29K variant being offered to India is based on the original MiG-29K (9.31) airframe, but is lighter in answer to Indian Navy requirements for the smallest possible dimensions to maximise use of space on the carrier Gorshkov.
Details of the variant, known internally as the 9.41, were confirmed by Nikolai Nikitin, RSK-MiG's general designer, in an interview at the show.
Nikitin says the aircraft is based on the 9.31 airframe, but without the high-cost welded aluminium lithium fuel tanks and forward fuselage. The land-based MiG-29's overwing auxiliary tanks are deleted, and the sharp-edged LERXes are filled with fuel to extend the aircraft's range.
Source: Flight Daily News
