Even more so than usual, since it could only be carried under one of the wings.

How’s about under intake pylon like Su-30MKI/Litening3? (ground clearance permitting). I don’t think OLS-K will be as sophisticated as ‘Damocles’.

Also, re: MiG-35 model pic1, is the port inboard pylon a TsNIRTI MSP Digital RF memory jamming pod?

I think yes. I remember some handheld long range thermal detectors that featured vertical scanning but needed to be swept to the right and left to scan the whole area.

Pilot workload must’ve been horrendous!! Poor guy.

Russia & CIS Observer / Archive / №1 (24) February 2009 / AERO INDIA 2009 / Another Russian debut in India /

The MiG-35’s AESA radar will be demonstrated at Aero India 2009

Maxim Pyadushkin

The MiG-35 will be the first Russian aircraft equipped with an active electronically-scanned array radar.
India traditionally is an important market for Russian defense products, and the Indian Air Force operates a large number of Soviet/Russian-made aircraft — ranging from obsolete MiG-21 fighters to the most modern Sukhoi Su-30MKIs.

Despite the growing competition from aerospace companies in the US and Europe, Russian manufacturers expect to keep their position as the Indian military’s leading supplier, and are displaying their latest innovations at the Aero India 2009 air show. Russia’s showcase exhibit on the air show’s static line and in the flying display is its MiG-35 fighter prototype. This aircraft made its debut at the Bangalore air show two years ago. Since that time, MiG has continued to work on this aircraft, finishing the design of its major subsystems — including the first Russian active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar, the Zhuk-AE. This active phased-array radar’s first working prototype also will be displayed for the first time at Aero India 2009.

The MiG-35’s presence is explained by Russia’s participation with this aircraft in the Indian Air Force tender for 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), which will be India’s major weapons purchase for the coming years. MiG’s rivals in the tender are the Lockheed Martin F-16, Boeing’s F/A-18, the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter’s Typhoon and the Saab Gripen. The Indian side released its RFP in August 2007, with the evaluation flights planned to start in 2010.

The future order — which is estimated at approximately $7-10 billion — can give a significant boost to MiG Corp. as well as to the entire Russian aircraft industry. MiG is currently struggling to recover from the failure to deliver 34 MiG-29SMT/UBT fighters to Algeria in 2007-2008. The cancellation of this contract brought the company’s debts to a record 44.6 billion rubles ($1.4 billion). In a desperate attempt to save the second largest national combat aircraft manufacturer, the Russian government placed Mikhail Pogosyan from Sukhoi as MiG’s new CEO in December. This appointment was backed by an immediate 15 billion rubles in subsidies from the state budget. Another action in support of this manufacturer came in January, when the Russian Air Force finally agreed to buy out 28 ex-Algerian MiG-29SMTs, which will add another 20 billion rubles to the company’s revenues.

While the MiG-35 inherited its airframe from Russia’s well-known MiG-29 fighter, the designers say it is a new aircraft. It will be reportedly much closer to the new MiG-29K 9-41 ship-based fighter version, which was developed for India with a lot of composite components in the airframe and new wing devices. Because of its extra fuel capacity, the MiG-35’s range has been increased by 50%, and it will carry twice the weapons load compared to India’s current MiG-29s.

Additionally, as with the MiG-29K, production MiG-35s are expected to be powered by Klimov RD-33MK engines. They can deliver a maximum thrust of 9 tons, which is 0.7 ton more than the basic RD-33 variant. The MK version has also received a smokeless combustion chamber to eliminate the aircraft’s smoke trail — making it less detectable by the enemy. Offered as an option is the Klimov KLIVT all-dimensional thrust vector control system, which previously was integrated on the MiG-29OVT technology demonstrator.
But the MiG-35’s main innovation is its Zhuk-AE multi-function X-band radar with an active electronically-scanned array, being developed by the Moscow-based Phazotron-NIIR company. In fact, the Zhuk-AE is a further development of Phazotron’s Zhuk slot array radar family used on various MiG-29 fighter versions — making it the first AESA radar of Russian design.

Previously, only one Russian combat aircraft — the MiG-31 interceptor developed in the 1970s — had an electronically-scanned array radar, but that was passive. The Zhuk-AE is being designed especially for its use on the MiG-35 and can track and engage both air and ground targets, turning the MiG-35 into a truly multi-role combat aircraft.
The new radar’s mock-up was first demonstrated with the MiG-35 at Aero India 2007, but for the past two years the designers have conducted intensive testing both on the ground and in the air. At the beginning of December, Phazotron reported on completion of another round of testing, saying that Zhuk-AE “steadily operates in various modes, detecting and tracking air and ground-based targets.” The testing has also confirmed the major technical solutions applied in the radar, as well as the performance capabilities of its subsystems. The company’s report cited MiG test pilot Mikhail Belyaev, who said that “from the very first flights, the radar showed very good results.”

MiG-35 prototypes should start evaluation testing in India in March 2010.
Currently, the radar prototype is operating again on a ground-based test bench — validating the operation of transmit-receive modules made by the Tomsk-based Micran company. Earlier, Phazotron chief designer Yury Guskov explained to the Russia & CIS Observer that the main challenge for designers is to ensure stable performance of the modules, which requires long-term testing.

The Russia & CIS Observer was told by Phazotron representatives that the existing radar prototype to be shown in Bangalore has a smaller antenna array than the one planned for the series production version. Today, it has a diameter of 650 mm, and incorporates only 680 transmit-receive modules instead of the planned 1,064. More space inside the aircraft’s nosecone is needed to place the larger antenna array, he said, adding that more space will be cleared because Phazotron intends to decrease the size of the radar’s amplifier and some other equipment, while MiG designers also promise to decrease the size of the aircraft subsystems in the nosecone.

According to Phazotron’s Yury Guskov, the Zhuk-AE is able to detect an enemy fighter at a distance of about 130-140 km with its current small antenna array. With the increased diameter and higher number of transmit-receive modules, this detection range is expected to grow to 250-280 km.
The Zhuk-AE’s final version is expected to be installed on two MiG-35 prototypes that should go to India for evaluation testing in March 2010.

According to the MMRCA tender requirements, the winner will deliver only four fully-assembled aircraft to the Indian Air Force, while the others are to be manufactured at Indian facilities. India already has an experience of producing Soviet and Russian aircraft under license. It started with the MiG-27 in the 1980s, and now is assembling Su-30KMI fighters at the local facilities of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. In addition to the aircraft itself, Russian manufacturers say they are ready to transfer the Zhuk-AE’s production technologies to India as well, which should give the MiG-35 an additional advantage over its rivals in the bidding.

But Phazotron hopes to find an application for its AESA radar in Russia as well. Company representatives said it is expected to be installed in a future version of the MiG-29K ship-based fighter to be developed for the Russian Navy. But this prospect seems to be rather distant. The country’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetzov, is currently equipped with Sukhoi Su-33 sea-based fighters, while the Navy doesn’t plan to lay keels for any new carriers until 2015. On the positive side, this means that Russian designers have plenty of time to finish the radar’s development.

Does the RD-33MK have crystal fan blades?

What specific systems? You want an answer on systems you can’t even identify?

F-35 Export Modifications Unlikely
Posted by David A. Fulghum at 12/23/2008 8:33 AM CST AW&ST

Israel is ready to buy two squadrons of F-35s early in the stealthy strike fighter’s production run. The country’s military planners say even that small initial number will provide a strong deterrent.

The desire to field them early will be reinforced by recent verification to Aviation Week & Space Technology by U.S. intelligence sources that Iran is now awaiting delivery of SA-20 long-range air defense missiles. Syria already has the SA-22 short-range missile and the country is seen as the next buyer of the SA-20. Stealth will be a key component to attacking or avoiding these “double-digit SAMs”.

So far, so good. However, Israeli officials want their aircraft to have an EW system specially modified for Middle Eastern threats and developed by Israeli EW companies. US contractors don’t think that’s going to be an easy task.

Because the F-35 is so thoroughly integrated and networked, “It’s starting to look more like a node on the network than an airplane,” says Don Donovan, president for electronic warfare at BAE Systems. “So what does that make the international sales piece look like? It’s a much more complex [export] situation because [the JSF] is much more highly integrated. It’s difficult to understand how all the international parties are going to play [in the EW arena]. So the U.S. is going to have to balance the expectations of foreign customers with the realities what will be provided.”

Israeli companies, IAI-Elta in particular, anticipate either building an indigenous EW system for the F-35 or modifying what’s provided by the US. The standard model comes with a BAE Systems electronic surveillance measures (ESM) system, expendables, but no towed decoy or onboard active jammer – apart from the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, which covers only the forward aspect and is limited to X-band.

“I see some hurdles with F-35 EW international sales,” Donovan says. “It’s just starting to show itself. [The BAE Systems’ package] is highly integrated with the platform, so we’re going to have to work out some accommodation. A model has been built over time. Until everyone fully understands how viable that model is, [any discussion of foreign input into the design] is just aspirational.”

While it is acknowledged that the Israelis have the full intention of developing their own EW system, U.S. researchers say it’s going to be a much more difficult job than it was on the F-16 because of the degree of integration.

“There’s a difference between modifying a new export aircraft and having specific indigenous capabilities integrated into an already established aircraft,” Donovan says. “I’d say these are uncharted waters. It’s not like the JSF enterprise is saying we understand all the hurdles we have to get over to make that possible. There isn’t that sort of roadmap yet.”

Paraphrasing an Indian comrade:

I spoke to Bill Sweetman, Editor of Defence Tech Intl mag after his plenary talk [@AeroIndia’09] on Why Fighters are needed….

He cited the SU-30 as the example of Russian dominance in the Aviation market, not in terms of sales, but in terms of flexibility. In fact, he used this program as a contrast to show all that was wrong with the US aviation development.

What he said was that no aircraft had had the amount of flexibility and customization in so short a time that the Su-30 had had… he pointed out that this customization was not a fault-correcting thing, but for customers.

He said that this sort of deep, flexible upgrades was what the US needed now rather than going in for new aircraft types with huge budgets – something like the Superbug, but far beyond. He said that the superbug was a good starting block, but that sort of doctrine needed to be incorporated into all aircraft types as well, something which the F-22 and 35 seriously lack.

Its a common saying kid, get over it.

At least your spelling has improved (spellchecker, huh?, 75)…..but dribbling the same old retarded, antagonistic BS.

Well thats good if you have some proper proof to that claim, unlike the childlike abuse from Otaku who couldn’t back his own claim up.

BS, I’m still waiting for ‘proper proof’ that you’re NOT the latest incarnation of that degenerate from ‘Planet Stupid’ who’s been banned from this forum several times already. Savvy?

3. How can people here sitting infront of their computers judge the aerodynamic performances of F 35. Wait till at least it is in service. So far the pilot feed backs have been excellent.

Why has LM failed miserably to convince the IAF/MoD to buy F-35? It should be easy- with the Russians’ price escalations, constant delays, ToT issues etc. I mean surely the F-35 could fulfill IAF’s 5G fighter/MCA roles combined.
The latest rumours suggest the Indian version won’t start development for some time yet, but even at the 11th hour they don’t sign for the F-35. Why?

Could it be they have seen the PAK-FA and are impressed with it’s potential? Isn’t “substantial” Indian funding the ultimate endorsement?
After all, it was designed to match the F-22, something MiG 1.42 failed to do.