RSK MiG-35

RSK MiG-35
RSK MiG-35D "Fulcrum-F"
Type:	Multipurpose fighter
Design country:	Russia
Manufacturer:	RSK MiG
First flight:	2007
Commissioning:	2019
Number of pieces:	6 in the Air Force (as of December 2019)

The multirole fighter RSK MiG-35 ( Russian РСК МиГ-35 , NATO Code Name : Fulcrum-F ) is, to a modernized version of the Soviet MiG-29M2 . Unofficially, the MiG-35 is also known as the Super Fulcrum . The MiG-35 is currently available in two versions, the single-seat MiG-35 and the two-seat MiG-35D.

history

Differences to the basic model. The MiG-35 has no canards

MiG-29M-OWT at the Berlin Air Show 2006

In the mid-1990s, the need to modernize the MiG-29 became increasingly evident. Design goals were more versatile application possibilities as well as the adjustment to new air-to-air and air-to-surface weapon systems. In addition, the fuel capacity and thus the range were to be increased and the workload of the pilot was to be reduced through more modern cockpit equipment.

From a purely external point of view, the changes compared to the MiG-29 apparently remained minor, but the cell based on the MiG-29K variant, which is suitable for use by the carrier, has largely been completely redesigned. Clearly visible changes are, above all, enlarged air inlets and a new type of protective net against foreign bodies in the air inlets. The previous additional air inlets on the top were omitted, and the space that was freed up was used for additional tanks. The trunk hump has been enlarged and now runs to the end of the trunk. An enlarged air brake was installed on the hump. The originally rounded edges of the wing root extensions (LERX) were designed with sharp edges in order to improve the generation of uplifting air vortices in extreme flight conditions.

The MiG-35 was developed in the city of Luzhovitsy in Moscow Oblast .

Until 2013, the procurement of 37 aircraft had been assumed, until it became known that the industry would not have been able to provide the necessary capacities. The purchase was initially postponed to 2016. At the time of the announcement of the handover of two aircraft to the Ministry of Defense for testing purposes in 2016, no definitive procurement contract had been signed.

In January 2017, Colonel General Viktor Bondarev , commander-in-chief of the Russian air and space forces , announced that all light fighters in Russia would be replaced by MiG-35 multi-role fighter jets. Overall, there is a need for 170 comparable aircraft. He did not give a definite date for this. The day before, it had been announced that the Russian MiG-35 multi-role fighter aircraft had made its first flight on January 27 in Luchowizy near Moscow.

In 2017, the leadership of the Russian Air Force announced that an order for 30 MiG-35s would be placed after successfully completing the flight tests.

technology

Avionics

Optical and infrared sensor 13SM-1

The MiG-35 has the NIIR Schuk-A radar and weapons control complex . The radar is the first Russian fighter radar to have an antenna with active electronic beam swiveling ( AESA with 680 T / R modules), the range is 160 km (85 NM) against air targets and 300 km against sea targets. It can pursue 30 targets simultaneously and combat six of them in rapid succession with medium-range air-to-air missiles R-77 or R-27 . It has the ability to generate high-resolution radar maps, which enables the detection of significantly smaller ground targets than the previous model. A receiver in combination with an inertial platform, which is compatible with both GLONASS and GPS and enables an accuracy of up to one meter, takes care of the navigation .

The Kols-MG optical and infrared sensor and the helmet visor for the pilot are used for target acquisition . The optical system has a range of up to 30 kilometers, depending on the weather. The pilot operates a four-channel fly-by-wire control. It relieves the pilot by automatically limiting the angle of attack. The FBW system limits the load on the airframe by automatically reducing extremely structurally stressful maneuvers to tolerable levels without the pilot having to do anything.

The front cockpit has three colored multifunction displays and head-up displays . The rear cockpit comprises four MFDs, whereby the HUD was dispensed with in order to be able to display TV and radar images for the precise guidance of air-to-ground weapons. It can also be used to display the data from the front HUD for training purposes. A radar warning receiver, an infrared sensor and a laser warning system warn of attacks. The countermeasures include decoys launchers . A facility for simultaneous passive target assignment to two anti-radar missiles Ch-31P is also available. Depending on the application, the system can be supplemented by a broadband radar jamming container that can detect and disrupt more than 100 different emitters at the same time.

drive

The Klimow RD-33MK and RD-33MKB engines are currently used in the MiG-35. The RD-33MKB engines have a thrust vector control , which has already been successfully tested with the MiG-29M-OWT. The MiG-29M-OWT demonstrated an astonishingly high maneuverability and was able to demonstrate impressive flight maneuvers at the ILA 2006 in Berlin. However, it is unclear whether the thrust vector control will actually be used in the case of series production, since the adaptation of the more powerful Klimow RD-43 engines is also considered possible in order to counteract the higher total weight of the machine. The series machines would then receive canards , which would increase maneuverability. But even when using the RD-43 engines, the subsequent installation of a thrust vector control would be possible.

Armament

The number of external load stations for weapon systems was increased from seven to nine to eleven, so that the MiG-35 can carry 6.5 tons of bomb load or eight air-to-surface missiles. Configured as an interceptor or air superiority fighter, the MiG-35 can deploy R-73E or R-73M2 air combat missiles, as well as R-77 and R-27T medium-range air-to-air missiles . TV-guided air-to-surface missiles Ch-29T and Ch-29TE are available for attacks on ground targets and up to eight B-8M1 containers, each with 20 unguided S-8 air-to-surface missiles, are available for close-range attacks . To combat ground-based air defense, the MiG-35 can carry up to four anti-radar missiles Ch-31 and deploy two of them at the same time. Four Ch-31A or four Ch-35 anti-ship missiles can be used against ships . Free-falling, TV-guided bombs KAB-500Kr and KAB-500Kr-OD, as well as unguided bombs OFAB-250-270 can also be carried.

Fixed armament in the bow

• 1 x 30 mm automatic cannon Grjasew-Schipunow GSh-30-1 (also GSh-301 or 9A-4071K) with 150 rounds of ammunition

Gun load of 6500 kg at 11 suspension points

Air-to-air guided missile

• 4 × APU-60-1 start rails for one MKB Wympel R-60M (AA-8 "Aphid") each - infrared controlled for short distances
• 4 × AKU / APU-470 start rails for one GosMKB Wympel JSC R-27R / ER (AA-10 "Alamo-A") - semi-active radar-guided for medium-haul routes
• 4 × AKU / APU-470 start rails for one GosMKB Wympel JSC R-27T / ET (AA-10 "Alamo-B") - infrared-controlled for medium-haul routes
• 8 × P-72-1D start rails for one GosMKB Wympel JSC R-73E / M2 (AA-11 "Archer") - infrared controlled for short distances
• 8 × AKU-170E start rails for one GosMKB Wympel JSC R-77E / RWW-AE-E (AA-12 "Adder") - radar-guided for long distances

Air-to-surface guided missile

• 4 × APU-68UM3 launch rails for one Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC Ch-25MP (AS-12 "Kegler") - passive anti-radar guided missile
• 4 × AKU-58M starting rails for one GosMKB Wympel Ch-29TE (AS-14 "Kedge-B") each - TV-controlled
• 4 × AKU-58M launch rails for one Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC Ch-31P (AS-17 "Krypton") - passive anti-radar guided missile
• 4 × AKU-58M launch rails for one Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC Ch-31A (AS-17 "Krypton") - radar-guided ship target missile
• 4 × launch rails for one Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC Ch-35E "Uran-E" (3M24E or AS-20 "Kayak") - radar-guided target missile

Unguided air-to-surface missiles

• 8 × GosMKB Wympel B-8M1 rocket tube launch container for 20 × unguided S-8 air-to-ground missiles each ; Caliber 80 mm
• 8 × APU-68UM3 missile launch rail for an unguided S-24B air-to-surface missile; Caliber 240 mm

Guided bombs

• 4 × Region JSC KAB-500Kr (TV-controlled 500 kg bomb)
• 4 × Region JSC KAB-500-OD (TV-controlled 500 kg bomb with thermobaric warhead)

Unguided bombs

• 5 × basalt FAB-500M-62 (100 kg free-fall bomb )
• 5 × ODAB-500PM (500 kg aerosol bomb )
• 5 × basalt OFAB-250-270 (250 kg free-fall bomb)

External container

• 1 × drop-off additional tank PTB-1500 for 1500 liters of kerosene
• 2 × additional PTB-2000 tanks for 2,000 liters of kerosene each for transfer flights

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
Type	Multipurpose fighter
length	17.16 m
span	11.41 m
Wing area	approx. 42 m²
Wing extension	3.1
Wing loading	minimum (empty weight): 286 kg / m² nominal (normal take-off weight): 417 kg / m² maximum (max. takeoff weight): 560 kg / m²
height	4.36 m
Empty mass	approx.12,000 kg
normal takeoff mass	17,500 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	23,500 kg
g limits	−3 / + 9 g
Top speed	at the optimum altitude: Mach 2.3 or 2445 km / h at sea level: Mach 1.23 or 1511 km / h
Service ceiling	17,500 m
Range	2000 km (with internal fuel) 3100 km (with three additional tanks)
Engines	two Klimow -RD-33MK (B) -3M- turbofan engines
Thrust	with afterburner: 2 × 88.30 kN without afterburner: 2 × 52.97 kN
Thrust-to-weight ratio	maximum (empty weight): 1.5 nominal (normal take-off mass): 1.03 minimum (max.start mass): 0.77
crew	1

User states

•  Russia - By December 2019, 6 series machines were delivered that are being tested by the Russian Air Force .

literature

• Andy Gröning: MiG-29 . Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-613-03816-5 , p. 106, 109-126, 135-148, 190 .

Web links

Commons : Mikojan-Gurewitsch MiG-35  - Collection of images

• Infographic about the MiG-35 on RIA Novosti (German)
• MiG-35 on www.airpower.at (German)
• MiG-35 at www.globalsecurity.org (English)
• MiG-35 on ASD (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ New generation of fighter planes: Russia's very latest MiG-35 soon to be standard
2. ↑ The postponement of the MiG-35 aircraft procurement is due to the unwillingness of the industry to be able to fulfill the contract - Deputy Minister of Defense , TASS, August 20, 2013
3. ↑ Russia's Defense Ministry will receive the first prototype of the MiG-35 this year , Interfax, March 30, 2016
4. ↑ ВКС планируют сменить весь парк легких истребителей на МиГ-35. In: ria.ru. RIA Novosti , January 27, 2017, accessed June 21, 2019 (Russian). 
5. ↑ Russian Air Force replaces all fighter jets with the latest MiG-35. In: Sputniknews.de. Retrieved January 27, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Marco Friedrich: MAKS 2007 special: Mikojan-Gurewitsh MiG-35. In: aipower.at. Retrieved July 27, 2017 . 
7. ↑ MiG-35 Fulcrum-F Multirole Fighter, Russia. In: airforce-technology.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017 (English). 
8. ^ Jefim Gordon : Soviet / Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two. Midland Publishing, 2004, p. 45.
9. ↑ R-73E / R-73EL Air-to-Air Guided Missiles ( Memento of the original from June 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ FliegerRevue September 2008, pp. 28–32, Die neue MiG
11. ↑ Источник: военные получат первые серийные истребители МиГ-35 в 2019 году. In: военное.рф. военное.рф, January 18, 2019, accessed on June 21, 2019 (in Russian, including the first 2 MiG-35UB were delivered to the air force in 2018). 
12. ↑ ВКС России получили первые новейшие истребители МиГ-35. In: iz.ru. Izvestia , June 17, 2019, accessed on June 21, 2019 (Russian, including the first 2 MiG-35s were put into service).