According to TASS the OSNOD link will also also be installed in upgraded Su-30SM.

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/6930489

Yes, those 34 MiG-29SMT/UBT at Kursk are the ex-Algerians. Some on Russian forums have speculated that with the gradual withdrawal of Fulcrum from combat units, they might be up for sale. I am not sure but personally I don’t think there are enough airframes left @ the factory in Lukhovitsy to complete the order, so they will need to find/cannibalize air-frames from somewhere else. Maybe some of the “vanilla” air-frames the VKS has retired over the past decade are in good condition.

I don’t have the numbers with me but stocks at Lukhovitsy should be exhausted by now. The last were the 16 acquired by VKS in 2016. All the aircraft sold between 1992 and 2014 came from the ones which were inherited from Soviet Union. At the moment of Soviet collapse there were contracts with VVS, Yugoslavia and Iraq (at least).

There is a debate on many Russian forums if the R-27s (like on the Belorussian Su-30s and other new VKS birds) are modernized significantly or not, personally I have not seen any conclusive evidence.

Back in May it was anounced that VKS would receive modernised versions of R-27, but no details were provided.

https://iz.ru/882783/aleksei-kozachenko-aleksei-ramm/v-boi-idut-stariki-istrebiteli-vooruzhat-raketami-dlia-duelei

MiG-29 – 15000 $/hour for Russian air force 35000 $/hour for foreign customer
MiG-29SMT – 9000 $/hour
MiG-35 – 7500 $/hour
Su-27 – 20000 $/hour
Su-35S 11000 – 12000 $/hour
F-22 – 68362 $/hour
F-35 – 35200 $/hour

The increase for the MiG-29 for Russian Air Force vs foreign customer is surprising. I assume it has to do with the overhauls and so on. I would not compare Russian data to US (or any other) as it is not clear what is included.

Thanks for the link with the book by the way.

Thank you, do you have any data on target designation? As I understand Link-16 allows an aircraft to fire a missile on a target that has been designated by another fighter or an AWACS aircraft. I think the Soviet Union already tested this in advanced MiG-31 versions.

How much internal fuel did the MiG-29M carry as opposed to the original MiG-29A or the SMT?

Far more, original MiG-29A did not meet range requirements. Hence the hunchback C version (9.13). MiG made substantial changes in MiG-29M and internal fuel capacity increased by 30%.

http://alejandro-8en.blogspot.com/2016/07/fuel-load-in-different-mig-29-variants.html?_sm_au_=iVVHQ31n54p4fM5V

This comment by IAF MiG-29 pilot is worth pointing out:

How good were the sensors?
“Excellent. The combination of the powerful Pulse-Doppler radar, IRST and helmet mounted sight with the weapons slewed to the sensors was wonderful and unique since it did not exist on any other comparable aircraft those days.

This factor was also pointed out by Yugoslavian pilotos who evaluated MiG-29, F-16 and Mirage 2000.

France has come a long way since the days of the AL-31F being way ahead of the M53 (developing very advanced abilities in certain areas),

Interesting, is this according to the Indian Air Force?

Yeah, to tell the truth, i am a little surprised that they kept the third seat in cockpit, it must be completely redundant by now.. however it sure keeps a nice seat view for the rest of the crew. Think it a total of four now. Was five or six before.

I am not sure for the Il-76MD-90A, but keeping the 3 men cockpit was a request of the Russian MoD in the Il-112V. It is handy when operating from basic airfields without much assistance.

3 million is not a large price difference. 5 a little bit, but not a biggie. They should consider the FA-50 simply due to long term stability over engine support and supplies. Although both the Tejas and Thunder are more likely to be integrated with a greater variety of weapons. Out of curiosity, which of these three has the best range? since Malaysia is vast

Other factors should also be taken into account when determining the cost. The life of the JF-17 is 3,000 hours, and the engine needs an overhaul every 600 hours (data from 2013). I am not sure about FA-50 but should be higher.