What is a MIG-29?
A: The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a twin-engine super maneuverable fighter aircraft
designed in the Soviet Union.
Who developed the MIG-29?
A: The Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s.
Why was it developed?
A: To counter new U.S. fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and
the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
While originally oriented towards combat against any
enemy aircraft, many MiG-29s have been furnished as what?
A: Multi-role fighters capable of performing a number of different
operations.
They are commonly outfitted to use a range of what?
A: Air-to-surface armaments and precision munitions.
The Russian Air Force wanted to upgrade its existing
fleet to the modernized MiG-29SMT configuration, but what has limited
deliveries?
A: Financial difficulties have limited deliveries.
The MiG-29 has also been a popular export aircraft; how
many nations either operate or have operated the aircraft to date?
A: More than 30.
At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet response was
necessary to avoid the possibility of what?
A: A new American fighter gaining a serious technological advantage over
existing Soviet fighters.
By 1971, however, Soviet studies determined the need
for what?
A: Different types of fighters.
The PFI program was supplemented with what?
A: The "Advanced Lightweight Tactical Fighter" program.
When did detailed design work on the resultant Mikoyan
Product 9, designated MiG-29A, begin?
A: In 1974, with the first flight taking place on 6 October 1977.
The pre-production aircraft was first spotted by whom?
A: United States reconnaissance satellites in November of that year.
In the West, the new fighter was given what name?
A: The NATO reporting name "Fulcrum-A".
The Soviet Union did not assign official names to most
of its what?
A: Aircraft, although nicknames were common.
Unusually, some Soviet pilots found the MiG-29's NATO
reporting name, "Fulcrum", to be what?
A: A flattering description of the aircraft's intended purpose, and it is
sometimes unofficially used in Russian service.
The MiG-29B was widely exported in downgraded versions,
known as what?
A: MiG-29B 9-12A and MiG-29B 9-12B for Warsaw Pact and non-Warsaw Pact
nations respectively, with less capable avionics and no capability for
delivering nuclear weapons.
In the 1980s, Mikoyan developed the improved MiG-29S to
use what?
A: Longer range R-27E and R-77 air-to-air missiles.
It added a dorsal 'hump' to the upper fuselage to house
what?
A: A jamming system and some additional fuel capacity.
The weapons load was increased to what?
A: 4,000 kg (8,800 lb.) with airframe strengthening.
These features were included in new-built fighters and
upgrades to what?
A: Older MiG-29s.
Mikoyan's multirole variants, including a carrier-based
version designated MiG-29K, were never produced in what?
A: Large numbers.
Development of the MiG-29K carrier version was
suspended for how long before being resumed?
A: Over a decade.
On 11 December 2013, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin revealed that Russia was planning to build a what?
A: A new fighter to replace the MiG-29.