RSK-MiG is concentrating efforts on promoting the MiG-AT trainer at Le Bourget this year.
It will be making regular appearances in the flying display, while a mock-up of the cockpit of the export version of the AT, equipped with French avionics, is on show at the RSK MiG stand.
Although the Russian air forces are no closer to selecting a trainer, MiG's hopes for the AT have been buoyed by recent events in India, where officials reportedly declared that they were ready to re-examine the earlier decision to purchase 66 Hawk 100 trainer aircraft from Britain in favour of the MiG-AT.
India¹s requirement for an advanced trainer is a long-standing one, and selection of the Hawk was extremely protracted, although the aircraft is understood to be the clear favourite of the Indian Air Force.
The Hawker Hunter has already been retired from the training role, and student pilots now have to transition from the elderly PZL Iskra or the indigenous HAL Kiran directly to the MiG-21 for advanced training, or even straight to the Jaguar or Mirage OCUs.
Source: Flight Daily News
