New 2011 for the Russian military-industrial complex has become one of the most disastrous in the struggle for the international arms trade markets. So, following the loss of the tender for the supply of tanks to Thailand, a month later, luck turned away from Russia in the tender for the supply of 126 MiG-35 fighters to India.
The tender was announced by India back in 2007. According to the terms, the winning state received a contract for the supply of 126 multifunctional fighters to the country. Also, the winner will have to invest, namely 50% of the contract amount, in military-industrial production and implementation in India. Under the contract, the first 18 aircraft will be delivered assembled from overseas, the remaining 108 will be manufactured by India's national aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). Four states took part in the tender: Russia (MiG-35), Sweden (Gripen), USA (F-16 Fighting Falcon, F / A-18 Super Hornet), France (Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon). The aircraft were tested at bases located in various climatic zones of India.
For four years, Russia was confident that the MiG-35 would be out of competition and that the multi-billion dollar contract was already in its pocket. This confidence was backed up by the reviews of experts who call the MiG-35 fighter the plane of the future. This aircraft should withstand even the fifth generation aircraft.
Outwardly, the MiG-35 resembles the MiG-29, but this is only at first glance. Behind the external similarity lies a completely new aircraft, which is designed to deliver effective strikes against ground and surface targets, conduct air combat, and at the same time the aircraft will remain invisible to enemy air defense systems. Previously, the MiG-35 fighter was known as the MiG-29OVT. The abbreviation OBT means - deflected thrust vector. A jet engine with this function enables a fighter to sharply change its direction of flight. According to the developers, this is a significant advantage in close combat. The aircraft can carry various weapons on nine external hardpoints, as well as serve as a tanker. Of course, in order to add these additional qualities to the fighter, its total weight had to be increased by 30% compared to the main model, the MiG-29.
But all of the above are far from the main advantages of the MiG-35. The main thing is the electronic filling of the aircraft, which no other modern fighter has. First, it gives the fighter a real opportunity to fight under the same conditions both day and night and regardless of meteorological conditions. Secondly, it significantly increases the pilot's survival in air combat due to the developed optoelectronic and electronic warning and countermeasures systems. Third, the Zhuk-AE radar with a built-in phased active antenna array. It was designed by the Fazotron-NIIR corporation on the basis of the Zhuk-ME serial radar. The station provides high-precision tracking of 30 air targets, synchronous attack of up to six ground and air targets at ranges of up to 130 kilometers. The radar is capable of operating in the mapping mode.
The MiG-35 is also equipped with an extended defense complex, which will warn the pilot in advance about the threat of an attack. This means that the pilot will have additional time to evade or use airborne countermeasures. For this, the aircraft is equipped with a COAR missile detection station, which includes a module for viewing the lower and upper hemispheres. The detection range of air-to-air missiles is 30 km, anti-aircraft guided missiles - 50 km, missiles of mobile anti-aircraft missile systems - 10 km.
In addition to Russia, neither the United States nor Sweden remained. India chose the French new generation 4 ++ Dassault Rafale multi-role fighter and the Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role fighter as the main contenders.
Russian experts are perplexed by India's decision, but it must be remembered that in the 90s, it was through the fault of the Russian side that the Indian Air Force found itself on the brink of disaster. The collapse of the Russian defense industry left them for a long time without the necessary spare parts and service. Perhaps this played a decisive role when the preference was given to a supplier state with a stable economy.
The only positive result of the lost tender is that now the domestic defense industry will be able to focus on fulfilling an internal order for the supply of modern MiG-35s to the Russian Air Force. Our air forces have long been in need of updating the existing fleet of combat vehicles, and now this is a very real opportunity. What about new contracts? They will be, given the fact that the MiG-35 is truly the aircraft of the future.
