Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-33
The name Mikoyan-Gurewitsch MiG-33 ( Russian Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-33 ) refers to several projects and fighter aircraft of the Russian aircraft manufacturer Mikoyan-Gurewitsch . The "Project R-33" was initially called the MiG-33. After this failed, the name MiG-33 was still used for the MiG-29ME and -K. However, these designations were only given by the manufacturer; the Russian military has not yet used the name MiG-33.
Project R-33
Work on the R-33 project began in the early 1980s. The aim was to develop a single-engine variant of the MiG-29 , which was not yet in service at the time. The reason was probably the emerging performance of the very simply and inexpensively constructed F-16 . This very flexible aircraft was increasingly becoming a strategic problem for the Soviet armed forces, as small NATO states such as Belgium , Denmark or the Netherlands also equipped themselves with such aircraft. The MiG-29 was intended as a counterpart to the F-16, but could not be produced in such high numbers. As a counterpart to the F-16, the R-33 was to replace the MiG-21 and -23 of the Warsaw Pact states in order to restore the balance. However, the redesign of the MiG-29 turned out to be too costly. When it turned out that the R-33 would not achieve the desired flexibility, the project was discontinued in 1986, even before the first prototype was completed.
Parts of the development later flowed into the Chinese Chengdu FC-1 , the further development of the J-7 , which European and American companies were originally supposed to develop. The cooperation was ended after the Tian'anmen massacre due to political pressure.
MiG-29ME
The MiG-29M was the first major modernization program of the MiG-29. It began in the early 1990s and was intended to correct deficiencies and weaknesses, as well as generally increase combat value . Their export version, the MiG-29ME, was called the MiG-33 "Super Fulcrum" for marketing reasons. The Russian military rejected this type of designation, so that the original designation was reverted to. The aircraft was never exported.
MiG-29K
The MiG-29K is a carrier-based variant of the MiG-29 that was developed for the Soviet aircraft carriers of the Admiral Kuznetsov and Ulyanovsk classes . For this, the airframe had to be revised considerably in some cases in order to cope with the increased structural loads. Primarily there were changes in the wings, which were enlarged. This made it possible to improve the slow flight characteristics. In addition, the chassis was also reinforced, which made higher weapon loads possible, which in turn was necessary because increased flexibility was required. In addition, the wings are now foldable to accommodate the tight spaces on an aircraft carrier. To counteract the increased total weight of the airframe and the resulting poorer flight characteristics, the more powerful Klimow RD-33 turbofan engines were installed. The avionics used largely correspond to that of the MiG-29SMT version. In the project stage it became clear that a navalized version of the MiG-29UB training aircraft is not suitable for aircraft carriers. The view of the carrier deck on the landing approach would have been insufficient for the student pilot and especially for the flight instructor. Therefore, the MiG-29KU (product 9-62) was designed by adding another separate cockpit without radar and with a rigid air refueling probe to a conventional MiG-29K in the area in front of the conventional cockpit. The procedure was comparable with the training execution of the MiG-25 . A mock-up of the front hull was created. With the end of the Soviet Union, the MiG-29K program ended without a series machine of the MiG-29K or a prototype of the MiG-29KU being built.
After a few years, the program was resumed for a carrier-based version of the MiG-29 in order to win India as a customer. This new version has been significantly revised and corresponds to a navalized version of the MiG-35 . This model is advertised again by the manufacturer MAPO as the MiG-33 (MiG-33D for the two-seat version) and was successfully exported to the Indian Navy . Later the Russian Navy also procured such machines to supplement the Su-33 . Nevertheless, the Russian military continues to refer to the machine as the MiG-29K.
See also
Web links
- MiG-33 at www.globalsecurity.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Yefim Gordon, Dimitriy Kommissarov: Mikoyan MiG-29 & MiG-35 . Famous Russian Aircraft, ISBN 978-1-910809-22-8 .