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Date Posted: 04-Jun-2004
JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – JUNE 09, 2004
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Algeria’s MiG-29 order imminent
JON LAKE JDW Special Correspondent
London
Algeria is poised to finalise a contract to buy 49 upgraded multirole MiG-29 fighter aircraft from the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG (RSK-MiG).
After long-running negotiations and a personal visit to Algeria in early May, MiG’s new general director, Valerii Toryanin, has now confirmed that the “epochal” $1.5 billion-$1.8 billion contract will be concluded “in the immediate future”. Nikolai Nikitin, MiG’s former general director, originally said the deal with Algeria was “imminent” late last year.
RSK-MiG will deliver 42 single-seat MiG-29s to Algeria, refurbished, returned to zero flying hours and upgraded to MiG-29SMT multirole fighter standard. RSK-MiG will also deliver seven MiG-29UBT combat-capable two-seaters. The latter may be new-build aircraft from the Sokol plant at Nizhny Novgorod, while the MiG-29SMTs will be converted from aircraft built in 1992-93 for Russia but never delivered.
The MiG-29SMT and UBT configurations were originally designed to meet Russian air force requirements for a MiG-29 upgrade. These add a genuine multirole capability, with a ground mapping Zhuk-MEh radar and compatibility with a wide range of advanced precision-guided weapons. The converted aircraft have a massive dorsal ‘saddle tank’, increasing fuel capacity.
The Algerian contract would mark a major boost for MiG, which for years has existed on the sale of a few basic MiG-29s, mainly to impoverished African nations, returning it to near parity with rival manufacturer Sukhoi.
It has been suggested that the deal may also result in the return of Algeria’s existing fleet of 30 MiG-29s and five MiG-29UBs. These were acquired from Belarus and Ukraine and were delivered, after refurbishment, from 1997. Other sources say that these may be returned for upgrade, allowing Algeria to replace its entire inventory of ageing fighters.
As of 31 May, neither RSK-MiG nor the Algerian government were prepared to comment on the deal.
Meanwhile, it appears that the 16 new-build MiG-29Ks ordered to equip India’s newly acquired aircraft carrier, the Gorshkov, may be manufactured by the IAPO plant at Irkutsk – a factory traditionally associated with Su-30 production – because MiG’s single-seat MiG-29 factory at Lukhovitskii no longer has the resources for new production.
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