Twin-seat trainer will become multirole aircraft capable of ground attack but fighter upgrade must wait for certification
RSK MiG has won Russian air force approval for its MiG-29UBT mid-life upgrade of the service's MiG-29UB twin-seat trainer, says Vladimir Barkovsky, head of the company's Mikoyan engineering centre. However, the air force has yet to approve RSKMiG's SMTupgrade to its current MiG-29S/SM single-seat fighters.
The UBT and SMT variants feature common avionics equipment supplied by RPKB Ramenskoye and based on a suite developed earlier for Sukhoi's twin-seat Su-30MKK multirole fighter supplied to China.
The MiG-29's original analogue cockpit instruments are partly replaced by two 6 x 8in (150 x 205mm) multifunction displays under the upgrade. The aircraft also receives new navigation equipment including dual GPS/Glonass satellite receivers and laser-gyro inertial reference systems. Additional work extends airframe life to 4,000 flight hours and increases maximum weapons load to 4,000kg (8,800lb) from 2,000kg.
The MiG-29UBT package modifies the basic twin-seat trainer into a multirole aircraft capable of conducting ground-attack missions using stores such as Tactical Missile Corporation Kh-25 and Kh-29 air-to-surface missiles and KAB-500 guided bombs with laser, TV and infrared homing heads.
While the UBT version for the Russian air force lacks a radar, RSK MiG is working to equip export variants with either the NIIP Osa or Phazotron-NIIR Kopyo-M multimode passive phased-array radars.
Russian air force approval for the UBT upgrade will enable the service to update its in-service MiG-29UBs to the new standard, and funding for an initial batch of aircraft is expected to be allocated in the 2005 Russian defence budget. Announced last week by Russian president Vladimir Putin, the budget includes a 40%, or Rb70 billion ($2.39 billion), increase in spending.
Delays with certification of the MiG-29SMT stem from a Russian air force request to equip its modified aircraft with an upgraded version of the N-019 Topaz radar, in preference to acquiring the export-standard Phazotron-NIIR Zhuk-ME. Yemen has already taken delivery of MiG-29SMT/UBTs under a14-aircraft contract placed in 2001, and Sudan is also to receive several UBTs this year.
VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW
Source: Flight International
