Russia pitches its MiG-35 into $9bn contract fight

Russia will pitch its new combat jet for a $9 billion (£4.5 billion) Indian defence contract, adding to fierce competition among European companies for one of the largest orders by any air force.

Sergei Ivanov, the Defence Minister, said that Russia would submit the MiG-35, an advanced version of the MiG-29, to the tender for 126 light fighter aircraft as the Indian Air Force seeks to upgrade its ageing fleet of Russian-made MiG-21s and British Jaguars.

India’s military, the world’s third-largest with 1.3 million active personnel, plans to buy new fighters and trainer jets, submarines, radar equipment and weaponry as it upgrades its defence capabilities after decades of neglect.

Mr Ivanov, speaking in Bangalore before a two-day visit to India by President Putin, said: “These aircraft [MIG-35s] are equipped with superb engines and can easily be manufactured and maintained in India.”

The minister’s declaration puts Russia up against bids expected from Lockheed Martin, of the United States, Dassault Aviation, of France, Gripen-SAAB, of Sweden, Boeing, of the US, and the Eurofighter consortium, in which BAE Systems has a 33 per cent stake. It also sets the tone for Mr Putin’s visit tomorrow, which is expected to focus on maintaining Russia’s position as the largest supplier of arms to India and countering the growing influence of America, India’s new ally after a landmark nuclear treaty.

Russia is the source of more than 70 per cent of India’s military hardware, having sold the country arms worth about $10 billion over the past five years, but delivery problems and currency exchange complications have forced India to buy from other nations, including Britain, the US, France and Israel. India and Russia have traditionally close military and diplomatic ties, but these have been threatened since the US agreed last year to allow India access to civilian nuclear technology after decades of isolation.

Mr Putin, who is to be guest of honour at India’s annual Republic Day parade on Friday, will bring a delegation of businessmen and ministers in an effort to win contracts in India’s burgeoning energy sector. He told the Press Trust of India: “We intend to help India directly in construction of atomic energy facilities for peaceful use.”

M. V. Rajasekharan, the Indian Planning Minister, said that Mr Putin’s visit would “take bilateral relations between the two time-tested friends to new heights”.

Mr Ivanov said that “very substantial” agreements would be signed during Mr Putin’s trip. These are thought to include a co-operation agreement for making multipurpose transport aircraft and collaboration in production of the fifth-generation fighter being developed by Sukhoi, the Russian manufacturer.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/mfi.htm

MiG-35 / 1.42 Multirole Front-Line Fighter [MFI]
The new MiG Multirole Front-Line Fighter [MFI - Mnogofounksionalni Frontovoi Istrebiel ] was unveiled publicly on 12 January 1999. The project has been under development since 1986, is variously designated the 1.42, the 1.44, I-42 and I-44 - the "MiG-35" and "MiG-39" designations are informally applied by some observers. 1-42 and 1-44 believed to be designations of the two prototypes, with the 1.44 used for the flight-test airframe(s). This multi-functional front-line fifth-generation fighter was developed by the MIG [Mikoyan & Gurevich] aviation scientific and production complex of the MAPO military-industrial corporation.

The first prototype was delivered early in 1994, and in December 1884 taxi-tests were conducted following which further work was suspended due to a shortage of funds. The 35-ton fighter features a single under-fuselage air intake with two AL41F engines of 20 tons thrust each, and a top speed of over 2,500 km/h. The twin-tail "duck" planform features an all-moving canard-type foreplane with a wingspan of about 15 meters and a length of about 20 meters.

The MAPO-MiG enterprise claims the new fighter would be able to outperform the F-22 Raptor, the most advanced US air-superiority fighter. Although the primary mission of the MFI is air-superiority, unlike the F-22 the MFI is also capable of performing strike mission, and thus in both conception and configuration is more directly comparable to the similar multi-role EFA2000 Eurofighter. Like the American F-22, the MFI has a thrust vectoring system that allows it to make sharp turns. It also has similar stealth capabilities, with the canard, wing and fuselage structures incorporating carbon-fiber and polymer composite materials. Other stealth features include radar-absorbing covering, screening of radar-visible structure elements, and reduced heat signature. The fifth-generation pulse-doppler radar has a phased-array andtenna with electronic scanning to simultaneously attack over 20 targets. The aircraft can carry long-range air-to-air and air-to-surface guided missiles, and it is armed with a 30-mm cannon.

In March 1997, military officials scrapped plans to manufacture the MFI because it was too expensive. The Defense Ministry supported the MFI development program, and would decide on production following flight tests that could take up to seven years. The Russian air force will not gain one new, state-of-the-art warplane before the year 2005 because of insufficient financing. No new warplanes had been acquired since 1996.

The MiG corporation asserted that a first test flight happened in late 2000, in which object 1.44 spent a few minutes in the air. However, neither representatives of the Defense Ministry, nor journalists saw that flight. And by 2001 it was apparent that the MiG-35 would not enter development or production.

Why is everyone comparing the Mig-35 to the F-22? Unless India plans to go to war with the United States, the Mig-35 is a much more sensible option; the F-22 is overkill for a nation that has little interest in global military projection. Like most nations, India is beefing up it’s military as form of defense. The F-22 is purely an offensive weapon, and an expensive one at that. Besides, the F-22 is not in the package the United States offered India; the United States is offering the F-16 and the F-18 as competiton to Russia’s Mig 35, so this whole debate is mute.

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Raptor Bait!