The MiG-29, whose NATO reporting name is Fulcrum, is a real dilemma.
This aerodynamically superb fighter jet is not successful as expected.
As the Weapon Detective, we are now investigating the MiG-29 and what has gone wrong.
The MiG-29 was born to compete with the mighty F-16.
At first glance, it is an aerodynamically better flying machine.
But, the MiG-29 has not been successful as the Fighting Falcon.
Before analysing the reasons for this failure, let's briefly look at the history and features
of the MiG-29.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S.A. realized that underestimating the capability of the
Soviet MiGs was a costly mistake.
So, in the late 1960s, the U.S. Air Force initiated a programme to produce a new air
superiority fighter, which led to the creation of the F-15 Eagle.
Naturally, the U.S.S.R. could not fall behind the race, and it started its Perspektivnyy
Frontovoy Istrebitel, which could translate as Advanced Frontline Fighter, programme at
nearly the same time.
The fruit of this work would be the Su-27, whose NATO reporting name is Flanker.
But, having only a fighter highly-capable but also overly expensive fighter was not
a feasible solution in a possible Third World War.
The U.S.A. had already initiated the Lightweight Fighter Programme, which led to the creation
of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
To answer this, the U.S.S.R. started the study phase for a similar fighter jet type under
the Perspektivnyy Lyogkiy Frontovoy Istrebitel, meaning Advanced Lightweight Tactical Fighter,
programme, in 1971.
Mikoyan i Gurevich Design Bureau began the design of the new aircraft, called MiG-29,
in 1974.
It shared many aerodynamic design features with the Su-27.
Indeed, the MiG-29 looked like the miniaturized variant of the Flanker.
The aircraft made its maiden flight on October 6, 1977.
It became operational in 1983.
Even though the U.S. reconnaissance satellites had spotted the MiG-29 in 1977, the Western
world had to wait to see the new Soviet fighter in the flesh until July 2, 1986, when the
aircraft was displayed in Finland.
The airframe is made mainly of aluminium alloys.
The ratio of composite material used is only 7 per cent.
The space between the engines generates lift, which reduces effective wing loading and increases
manoeuvrability.
About 40 per cent of the lift in flight is provided by the fuselage and the rest by the
wing.
The MiG-29 is highly agile.
The aircraft has an outstanding instantaneous and sustained turn performance and is resistant
to spins.
The MiG-29 can perform the cobra manoeuvre.
Although the aircraft has superior agility than many other modern 4th-generation fighters,
it has mechanical flight controls, not a fly-by-wire system.
Even though the MiG-29 is considered a 4th-generation combat aircraft, the original production variants
have a similar cockpit to the previous generation.
They feature neither hands-on-throttle-and-stick control nor digital displays.
Besides, the first radar, the N019, used on the aircraft is not newly designed but a development
of the Sapfir-23ML architecture used on the MiG-23ML.
Currently, many operational Fulcrums keep these outdated components.
The later variants and some modernized MiG-29 versions have glass cockpits with HOTAS-compatible
flight controls, modern radar and infrared search and track sensors.
The Fuılcrum can be operated from semi-prepared or even damaged airstrips.
To ensure this ability, the air inlets of the MiG-29 can be closed entirely to prevent
the ingestion of ground debris.
So, it begins to use the auxiliary air inlet on the upper fuselage.
This feature also improves the ability to fly at low-altitudes.
The original production versions do not have inflight air refuelling capability.
To keep our video short and sweet, we mentioned only major MiG-29 variants.
The export versions of the Fulcrum have downgraded electronics and cannot use nuclear weapons.
Just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Mikoyan i Gurevich began to deliver
the MiG-29S variant, which has a higher payload capacity and extended range.
The new radar of this version gives the aircraft the capability of using the R-27 air-to-air
missiles, whose NATO reporting name is AA-10 Alamo.
Even though the development works on the MiG-29M variant began in 1982, and the aircraft made
its maiden flight in 1986, this version could not be operational in the mid-2010s.
It has the Bars-29 radar, which can detect an air target with a 5 square meters radar
cross-section at 120 kilometres.
The M variant with inflight air refuelling capability can use modern precision-guided
air-to-surface munitions.
It features a fly-by-wire flight control system and has a 7 per cent more powerful engine.
Also, its redesigned airframe is constructed from a lightweight aluminium-lithium alloy
to increase the thrust-to-weight ratio.
Even though the serial production of the MiG-29M began too late, many features of this version,
such as the radar, glass cockpit, and inflight air refuelling probe, were applied to the
modernized SM and SMT variants before.
But, due to economic difficulties, Russia has been able to upgrade only a few MiG-29
to SMT standards.
The MiG-29K is the carrier-based variant of the family.
It has a fly-by-wire flight control system, inflight air refuelling capability, a glass
cockpit, hands-on-throttle-and-stick controls, and a multi-functional radar.
However, one of the users of this variant, India, criticized the MiG-29K's engines, airframes
and fly-by-wire system defects.
So, the Indian Navy did not order new aircraft for its newly built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Even though it is a technology demonstrator rather than an operational variant, the MiG-29M-OVT
is a noteworthy Fulcrum version.
It has two RD-133 thrust-vectoring engines, each featuring unique 3D rotating nozzles.
So, the MiG-29M-OVT can perform mind-blowing manoeuvres.
Of course, there is also the MiG-35, which we will save for another video.
The single-seat variant of the MiG-29 has a length of 17.32 metres, a wingspan of 11.36
metres, and a height of 4.73 metres.
Its wing area is 38 square metres.
The aircraft's empty weight is about 11,000 kilograms, while its maximum takeoff weight
is 18,000 kilograms.
Two 81.58 kiloNewton Klimov RD-33 afterburning turbofan engines provide a top speed of Mach
2.3.
Its service ceiling is 16,000 metres, in other words, 52,000 feet.
The aircraft's range is 2,100 kilometres.
Its combat radius is 900 kilometres.
The MiG-29 can climb to an altitude of 18,000 metres, in other words, 59,000 feet.
The aircraft has one 30mm twin-barrel Gsh-30-1 autocannon and seven hard points.
It can carry up to 4 tons of ordinance.
The aircraft can be equipped with the R-27, R-60, and R-73 air-to-air missiles, bombs
and rockets.
The modernized variants of the MiG-29 can also use modern air-to-surface munitions.
The S, M, and K versions can launch R-77 air-to-air missiles, whose NATO reporting name is AA-12
Adder.
Besides, India integrated its locally developed Astra missiles onto the aircraft.
During the trials conducted in the early 1990s, thanks to the helmet-mounted weapons sight
and better manoeuvrability at slow speeds, the MiG-29s of the German Air Force sent chills
down U.S.-made fighters' spines in the dogfights.
But in actual combat, the Fulcrum could not repeat this success.
In 1989, two Israeli F-15Cs shot down two Syrian MiG-29s.
During the 1991 Gulf War, five Iraqi MiG-29s fell victim to the Eagles of the U.S. Air
Force.
Even though some Russian sources claim that the MiG-29 won three air victories against
one Tornado, one B-52, and one F-111, the Westerners have not acknowledged them.
The MiG-29 finally faced its main nemesis, the F-16, during the 1999 Kosovo War.
During these encounters, one U.S. and one Dutch Fighting Falcon shot down two Serbian
Fulcrums.
So far, the MiG-29 has only won occasional air victories over its comrades.
The Eritrean Fulcrums shot down two Ethiopian MiG-21s and three MiG-23s in 1999.
Ukraine claims a MiG-29 shot down a Russian Su-35 on May 27, 2022.
But Kyiv also acknowledged that the Ghost of Kyiv, the nickname given to a MiG-29 Fulcrum
flying ace credited with shooting down six Russian jets, is just a myth.
So, why has the MiG-29, the combat jet with excellent dogfight capability on paper, not
been successful as expected?
The Fulcrum is indeed an aerodynamically successful aircraft.
Yet, a modern fighter is more than just a flying machine.
It is also a platform that carries many avionics, electronics, and weapon systems.
The creation purpose of the MiG-29 was to encounter the F-16.
But, the Soviet Air Force completely misunderstood the Fighting Falcon and the 4th-generation
fighters.
Thanks to its unstable design and fly-by-wire system, the F-16 was an agile aircraft.
But, it was also more than this.
For example, radar technology had not matured enough when the 3rd-generation fighters were
introduced.
Also at that time, the infrared and radar seekers of the missiles had been primitive.
So, the F-4 Phantom II had not been successful as expected.
The MiG-23 had been a complete failure.
But, the radar and missiles used with the F-16 were much more capable than the previous
ones.
The Soviet engineers equipped the MiG-29 with the N019 radar, a variant of the Sapfir-23ML
of the MiG-23ML.
The N019 inherited the weak points of its ancestor, which reduced the aircraft's ability
to detect and track airborne targets at ranges available with the R-27 and R-77 missiles.
To rush the MiG-29 production, the U.S.S.R. preferred mechanical flight controls, not
a fly-by-wire system.
Also, the Fulcrum had a centre stick instead of the hands-on throttle-and-stick control.
Controlling the F-16 via joystick reduced the pilots' workload during the dogfights.
On the other hand, the MiG-29 pilots had to look at the inside of the cockpit to control
the aircraft from time to time, which reduced situational awareness.
The MiG-29 could only compete with the F-16 in terms of agility.
But, it was now the era of avionics, not the mechanics.
The Soviet engineers had also recognized this transformation.
But, they could not fully understand its importance.
Thus, the Soviet Air Force decided to acquire the MiG-29 without a fly-by-wire system, hands-on
throttle-and-stick control and a new advanced radar.
But it also planned to fund the development of the updated S variant.
Naturally, Moscow did not foresee losing the Cold War in a decade and thought it had time
to catch up with its rival.
Yet, the electronic revolution was innovative, and innovative ideas require a free-thinking
environment and large amounts of money to grow.
In a totalitarian country like the Soviet Union, where all power was concentrated in
the centre, the success chance of electronics and software revolutions was already low.
Also, money was a big problem, which would cause the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. later.
When Russia was reborn from the ashes of the Soviet Union, the economic situation became
even worse.
So, Moscow could not spare money to improve the Fulcrum.
On the other hand, the U.S.A. has constantly updated the Fighting Falcon.
One side of the competition has never stopped, while the other has crawled forward occasionally.
Due to the economic crisis caused by the dissolution of the U.S.S.R., finding spare parts for the
MiG-29 became harder and harder.
So, the Fighting Falcons have always been ready for war, while the Fulcrums have experienced
difficulties in terms of maintainability.
The Westerners also enjoyed numerical superiority over the Middle East and the Balkans.
So, the MiG-29 was doomed from the beginning.
Still, this beautiful Russian bird of prey has proved its value in the right hands.
Despite the inherited haplessness, the MiG-29 is one of the most noteworthy jet fighters
of the last three decades.
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