The future of the MiG-29, but regular and mods.

Rather than continue debating about the MiG-29 on the multirole post, lets talk about it here. I’m hoping GaryB or Arthur could answer some of these questions 😀

I’m under the impression that the baseline “Fulcrum-A” has no future, due to its pilot workload, smokey engines, and most importantly range. It’s combat records are not the greatest, even in conditions where the MiG-29 user was not going against an enemy that was numerically/technologically superior, such as the Eritrea/Ethiopia war. Because of this record, it not only jeapordizes the image of the MiG-29 but also upgrades and new variants as well.

The only potential future users of the MiG-29 would be those air forces who can’t afford something better or is planning to purchase the gorshkov.

The upgraded SMT version gets rid of the smokey engines and incorporates new avionics to reduce pilot workload..but the question remains.. even if the engine is smokeless, what is its engine life and maintenance needs? the original MiG-29 had complains about those two.. also was brought up the upgraded MiG-29 was able to fly from Moscow to Farnborough (sp), but what was its loading? was it flying with full fuel? did it have fuel tanks or dummy weapons on its pylons? A mid weight combat plane with full fuel flying in a clean state should be able to make that distance, F-18, Mirage 2000..etc.

The MiG-29M2 does look promising but how much range does it improve upon?