Return of the MiG-29K

[RvETito]

Oh mention the MiG-29K and guess who turns up online all of a sudden?! :D

 

Yeah, Jens is like lost in space and one just has to whisper MiG-29K or anything related to the russian navy and here he comes :D Good to hear again from you, mate ;) Nice thread.

[Alfa]

I don't see any reason why the next FC patch (if there will be one) shouldn't include some code changes (arrestor hook) that would allow your 29K mod to land on a carrier (player controlled).

 

Neither do I Kenan :) .

[Alfa]

Oh mention the MiG-29K and guess who turns up online all of a sudden?! :D

 

Heh yeah I guess that was predictable :D

 

In the meanwhile, a Russian MoD contract to upgrade the Su-33 has been announced. Interesting times...

 

Indeed! :) . It sounds like the idea is to upgrade the currently airworthy Su-33s, acquire new MiG-29Ks as replacement for the non-airworthy/lost Su-33s and then operate them in a mix for increased flexibility.

 

It sounds like a pipe dream, but if you consider the numbers it sounds plausible. Initially there were 24 Su-33s(i.e. an air-regiment) and as I understand it there are about 10 left in airworthy condition - this leaves 14 units, which in turn corresponds to the number of MiG-29K/KUBs acquired by India......i.e. if Russia places a similar order the 279 KIAP would be back up to full strength.

[Alfa]

Yeah, Jens is like lost in space and one just has to whisper MiG-29K or anything related to the russian navy and here he comes :D

 

yeah yeah :D

 

Good to hear again from you, mate ;)

 

You too Tito :)

[Vekkinho]

Indeed! :) . It sounds like the idea is to upgrade the currently airworthy Su-33s, acquire new MiG-29Ks as replacement for the non-airworthy/lost Su-33s and then operate them in a mix for increased flexibility.

 

I was surprised to see Mikhail Pogosyan switching seats from Sukhoi to MiG but I guess he's the Ross Brawn of Russian AF industry!

 

Yeah, upgrading those airworthy -33s would make things interesting in the future of Russian Navy! Do you have any articles on that?!

[Alfa]

Well I hadn't heard about this new plan to upgrade Su-33s until Evil mentioned it here, so I don't know what it involves.

 

I guess it all depends on what the purpose of the upgrade is - just to keep the Su-33s flying safely for a few more years, to multirole upgrade them in a cost effective way or to upgrade them in a way that puts them on par with the MiG-29Ks.

 

So it could span from a modest replacement of individual components(along the lines of the already performed RWR upgrade) over an -SM style package with upgrade of the existing N001 radar to more sophisticated solutions including new advanced radars.

 

The options are all there - the Su-27SM is in operational service, so it would seem rather straight forward to implement this upgrade package to the Su-33s as well(the cost effective multirole upgrade).

 

The Su-27KUB has been tested with both the Zhuk-MS and Zhuk-MSF radars and since the Zhuk-MS is virtually the same radar as the Zhuk-M installed in the MiG-29K/KUB, it would also seem an obvious choice for an Su-33 upgrade(the sophisticated solution).

[EvilBivol-1]

The Su-33 upgrade contract was picked up on the forums from official Russian government contract tracking websites. It has not been publicized in the press so far. The only detail known is the total cost, which was something between 1-2 bilion rubles, I believe. Sounds like quite an expense for a few airframes, so it's possible it could be an actual upgrade versus a service life extension. But nothing is really clear at this point, most of all whether any of it will actually happen.

[Vekkinho]

The Su-33 upgrade contract was picked up on the forums from official Russian government contract tracking websites. It has not been publicized in the press so far. The only detail known is the total cost, which was something between 1-2 bilion rubles, I believe. Sounds like quite an expense for a few airframes, so it's possible it could be an actual upgrade versus a service life extension. But nothing is really clear at this point, most of all whether any of it will actually happen.

 

That's like 70 mil US$...10 airframes = 7 mil each.

[EtherealN]

Yeah, but you need to check out the big mac index for it as well. 7 million dollars gets you more in russia than it does in the US.

 

Exactly how much more I dunno tho. :P

[Vekkinho]

Yeah, but you need to check out the big mac index for it as well. 7 million dollars gets you more in russia than it does in the US.

 

Exactly how much more I dunno tho. :P

 

Gets you more if you don't buy US made stuff...Check Logitech G940, it's 300$ in States but also 300€ in Europe (and Russia)!

 

Now if you live in States and wanna spend 7 mil $ on your aircraft you'd get a nice paintjob and a new set of tyres...

 

In Russia 7mil $ gets you complete modernized electronics, radar included!

[Alfa]

The Su-33 upgrade contract was picked up on the forums from official Russian government contract tracking websites. It has not been publicized in the press so far. The only detail known is the total cost, which was something between 1-2 bilion rubles, I believe. Sounds like quite an expense for a few airframes, so it's possible it could be an actual upgrade versus a service life extension. But nothing is really clear at this point, most of all whether any of it will actually happen.

 

Ah ok - I guess we will just have to wait and see, but it sure is an interesting prospect :) .

[Vekkinho]

Two or three years ago there was a possibility of production of ~50 Su-33 airframes for China, dunno what happened with it, though?!

[Alfa]

Neither do I, but if I remember correctly there wasn't any official confirmation about this - i.e. it looked more like a rumor than an actual prospect.

[FBW8204]

http://pilot.strizhi.info/2009/12/27/7027

 

http://pilot.strizhi.info/videos/smotr/landing_MiG-29K.wmv

[Flаnker]

The first refuelling in air

http://pilot.strizhi.info/photos/v/in-flight_refueling/