The Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum" is the Soviet answer to
the Western type of fighter capabilities. It is a break away from the traditional Soviet
types, such as the lighter MiG-17/19 and the MiG-21, which were limited in their range,
and the heavy-weight MiG-25, which had high speed capability at the expense of
manoeuvrabilit. The MiG-29 is powered by a pair of the fuel efficient Isotov RD-33 low
bypass ratio turbofans wich develop 11,110 lb st. dry and 18,300 lb st. with re-heat. The
first prototype flew on 6 October 1997.
The MiG-29 has retractable doors on the air intakes to prevent debris being sucked from the ground into the engines. While the nose wheel is on the ground and the engine running, these doors shut and a number of small doors on the top surface of the wing open to allow air to be drawn into the enigne.
The radar has a range of 100km and is of a pulse-doppler type with a look down/shoot capability. It has a large IR search/track receiver mounted in a dome in front of the cockpit. It is armed with a 30 mm cannon and can carry a range of air-to-air missiles, including the AA-10 "Alamo" and AA-11 "Archer" on six pylons plus external fuel tank under the fuselage.
The MiG-29 is replacing the MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-15 and Su-17. It is currently operated by CIS, Cuba, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, North-Korea, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Syria and Yugoslavia.
SPECIFICATION
Span:37 ft 3,25 in / 11.36 m
Length: 57 ft 0 in / 17.37 m
Height: 15 ft 6,2 in / 4.73 m
Weight: 24,030 lb (10900 kg) empty / 40,785 lb (18500 kg) max. take-off
Armament: One 30 mm cannon and six to eight air-to-air missiles or extra fuel tanks
on six hardpoints
Engines: Two Klimov/Sarkisov RD-33 turbofans with 18,300 lb st. with re-heat
PERFORMANCE
Speed: maximum level speed
'clean' at 36,090 ft (11000 m) 2445 km/h (1,319 kt), or at sea level 1500 km/h (810 kt)
Range: 1,080 nm (2000 km; 1,243 miles) with internal fuel; 1,728 nm (3200 km; 1,988
miles) with external fuel tanks
Ceiling: 55,775 ft (17000 m)
G-limits: +9 below Mach 0.85 and +7 above Mach 0.85
Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum" photo gallery
