Russia has approached India again with an offer for MiG-35 fighters. The move comes as negotiations drag on to finalize a contract for the Dassault Rafale, which was declared the winner of the medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition in January last year. Explaining the move, Sergei Korotkov, general director at Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG (RAC MiG), told Russian media, “Although we lost the [MMRCA] tender, we nonetheless met all the requirements set by the tender committee.” He noted that MiG has been a partner with the Indian aerospace industry and air force for 50 years; India signed for its first MiG-21 fighters in 1962.
Although RAC MiG has failed so far to clinch a firm domestic order for the MiG-35, Korotkov said that negotiations with the Russian MoD continue, with an award expected in this year’s second half. Korotkov said that deliveries of the 24 MiG-29K/KUB carrier-capable fighters for the Russian navy will start later this year. For the first time in recent Russian procurement history, they will come equipped with foreign avionics, including Sagem navigation systems and Thales helmet-mounted sights. The Russian navy is the second customer for the ship-borne MiGs after India, which has already received 20 such aircraft out of 45 on order (worth nearly $2 billion), and expects four more later this year.
26/04/13 Valdimir Karnozov/AINonline
