Lets hope it will be less waste of money than i think it is.

At least is being exported in good numbers (Egypt ) and provides RSK MiG with some work.

So what i guess is on everyones mind here, what kind of radar is the domestic Mig-35 operating?

Still no AESA, which is disappointing.

Concerning the internal fuel capacity the values are 4300l for 9.12 and 5830l for the new airframe (36% increase). The main source of the increased capacity are tanks introduced in the place of deleted auxiliary air intakes, I can’t find the exact value right now, but it’s in excess of 1000l.

Table with summary:

http://alejandro-8en.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/fuel-load-in-different-mig-29-variants.html

Hmm, looks like the original idea of getting MiG-29M2 is dead as the original price of $100mil for six jets would not justify it. The article mentions “multirole MiG-29s”, though.. looks like they take six 9.12s or 9.13s and have them upgraded to SMT standard..

Apparently there was also pressure from the IMF to give up contract for MiG-35s in order to provide loans. Yes, ideally you would want the entire fleet to consist of MiG-29SMT.

One of the main issues were the engines. Without the Rafale, Snecma would really struggle.

According to the Spanish representative in the negotiations, the French underestimated the British. Dassault had sold hundreds of fighters while the British aerospace industry was recovering from the 1957 Duncan Sandys law, which gave priority to SAMs.

One of the meetings took place in Rome. The British took their revenge. The Spanish representative never attended one with such a bad atmosphere. Every time the French representative suggested something the answer from the British one was “no”. Like this again and again. Finally, the French representative suggested that at least some of the systems could be common, but the answer again was “no”.

Spain compared Mirage 2000, F-16 and F-18 amongst others. The Mirage 2000 was dropped because it did not meet some technical parameters. The Air Force already operated the Mirage F1, and did not want to be dependent on one provider.

F-16 and F-18 were the finalist. The versions tested were F-18A and F-16 Block 25 (*); 53 parameters were analysed. The Hornet was superior in 35, the Falcon in 9. On the other 9 they were comparable.

The Hornet could use AIM-7, Harpoon, designator pods, HARM. The 2 engine configuration was also considered safer. It was truly an excellent choice, and regarded by some as one of the most successful weapons program in Spain.

http://elpais.com/diario/1982/08/23/espana/398901603_850215.html

(*) A Block 30 was also brought to the evaluation. McDonnell Douglas offered the F-18L.

Also, a VERY interesting chart- from Motor-Sich no less, about the value of Russian components in Ukranian aicraft- the Russian portion is pink…..yeah:

Indeed, no matter what Ukroboronprom says about replacing Russian components, it is almost impossible as production is very low. In this article, written by a former senior engineer at Antonov, there is plenty of information about these problems.

http://hvylya.net/analytics/economics/est-li-budushhee-u-aviastroitelnoy-otrasli-ukrainyi.html

Very interesting TR1.

In #22, Maj Gen Boris Vorobyev, commander of the Army Aviation centre at Torzhok was killed in an accident, back in 1998.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/rotor-blade-collision-is-blamed-for-ka-50-crash-41224/