MiG-29: Problems of a Frontline Fighter
The MiG-29 is a fourth-generation Soviet multirole fighter developed by the MiG Design Bureau in the 1970s. The aircraft was developed as part of the LFI (Light Frontline Fighter) program, whose mission was to provide air support against enemy fighters, as well as active support for ground and air forces, primarily in the potential European theater of operations. Therefore, the MiG-29 was designed with active, maneuverable air combat at short and medium ranges in mind. This determined its configuration, some aspects of which are still controversial today.
Immediately after entering production and receiving service, the MiG-29 began undergoing extensive modernization, adapting to changing air warfare concepts of the 1980s. The development of the MiG-29M and MiG-29K – more effective and versatile fighters – was to be a major step in this direction. But with the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent economic crisis, the projects were shelved, and in head-to-head competition on the global market, the MiG-29 lost to both foreign fighters and its larger brother, the Su-27.
Nevertheless, MiG continued to develop and, at the beginning of the 21st century, relaunched the MiG-29M and MiG-29K projects. The carrier-based fighter was delivered to the Russian and Indian navies, and the MiG-29M eventually evolved into the MiG-35.
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Timecodes:
00:00 – MiG-29
00:39 – 4th Generation Fighter
03:35 – LFI Concept
06:11 – New Layout
08:23 – The Birth of the MiG-29
11:11 – Fighter Description
13:14 – Engines
15:48 – Equipment
18:11 – Weapons
19:53 – Flight Characteristics
21:41 – Model 9-13
22:25 – Service Start
23:57 – Airshow Star
25:56 – MiG-29M and MiG-29K
31:12 – Problems of a Frontline Fighter
34:45 – Why is the MiG so Heavy?
37:27 – Modifications of the SM, SMT, and OVT
38:47 – Relaunch of the MiG-29M and MiG-29K
40:09 – MiG-35 and the MMRCA tender
42:06 – MiGs in Russia and around the world
43:33 – The end?