The Mikoyan MiG-29 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: "Fulcrum") is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other nations. The NATO name "Fulcrum" was sometimes unofficially used by Soviet pilots in service.
The MiG-29, along with the Sukhoi Su-27, was developed to counter new American fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
December Group Build - MiG-29
The MiG-29 has two widely spaced Klimov RD-33 turbofan engines, each rated at 50.0 kN (11,240 lbf) dry and 81.3 kN (18,277 lbf) in afterburner. The space between the engines generates lift, thereby reducing effective wing loading, to improve maneuverability. The engines are fed through wedge-type intakes fitted under the leading-edge extensions (LERXs), which have variable ramps to allow high-Mach speeds. As an adaptation to rough-field operations, the main air inlet can be closed completely and alter using the auxiliary air inlet on the upper fuselage for takeoff, landing and low-altitude flying, preventing ingestion of ground debris. Thereby the engines receive air through louvers on the LERXs which open automatically when intakes are closed. However the latest variant of the family, the MiG-35, eliminated these dorsal louvers, and adopted the mesh screens design in the main intakes, similar to those fitted to the Su-27.
Cockpit
The cockpit features a conventional centre stick and left hand throttle controls. The pilot sits in a Zvezda K-36DM zero-zero ejection seat which has had impressive performance in emergency escapes.
The cockpit has conventional dials, with a head-up display (HUD) and a Shchel-3UM helmet mounted display, but no HOTAS ("hands-on-throttle-and-stick") capability. Emphasis seems to have been placed on making the cockpit similar to the earlier MiG-23 and other Soviet aircraft for ease of conversion, rather than on ergonomics. Nonetheless, the MiG-29 does have substantially better visibility than most previous Russian jet fighters, thanks to a high-mounted bubble canopy. Upgraded models introduce "glass cockpits" with modern liquid-crystal (LCD) multi-function displays (MFDs) and true HOTAS.
Armament
Armament for the MiG-29 includes a single GSh-30-1 30 mm cannon in the port wing root. This originally had a 150-round magazine, which was reduced to 100 rounds in later variants. Original production MiG-29B aircraft cannot fire the cannon when carrying a centerline fuel tank as it blocks the shell ejection port. This issue was corrected in the MiG-29S and later versions. Three pylons are provided under each wing (four in some variants), for a total of six (or eight). The inboard pylons can carry either a 1,150-litre (300 US gal) fuel tank, one Vympel R-27 (AA-10 "Alamo") medium-range air-to-air missile, or unguided bombs or rockets. Some Soviet aircraft could carry a single nuclear bomb on the port inboard station. The outer pylons usually carry R-73 (AA-11 "Archer") dogfight missiles, although some users still retain the older R-60 (AA-8 "Aphid"). A single 1,500-litre (400 US gal) tank can be fitted to the centerline, between the engines, for ferry flights, but this position is not used for combat stores. The original MiG-29B can carry general-purpose bombs and unguided rocket pods, but not precision-guided munitions. Upgraded models have provision for laser-guided and electro-optical bombs, as well as air-to-surface missiles.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia was the first European country outside the Soviet Union to operate the MiG-29. Yugoslavia received 14 MiG-29Bs and two MiG-29UBs from the USSR in 1987. MiG-29s were put into service with the 127th Fighter Aviation Squadron, based at Batajnica Air Base, north of Belgrade, Serbia.
Yugoslav MiG-29s saw little combat during the breakup of Yugoslavia, and were used primarily for ground attacks. Several Antonov An-2 aircraft used by Croatia were destroyed on the ground at Čepin airfield near Osijek, Croatia in 1991 by a MiG-29, however there were no MiG-29 losses. At least two MiG-29 carried out an air strike on Banski dvori, the official residence of the Croatian Government, on 7 October 1991.
The MiG-29s continued their service in the subsequent Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Because of the United Nations arms embargo against the country, the condition of the MiG-29s worsened. Before Operation Allied Force began in 1999, Yugoslav MiG-29s were over 10 years old, short of spare parts and proper maintenance. By March 1999, the Yugoslav Air Force had 11 MiG-29s considered operational.
A total of six MiG-29s were shot down during the Kosovo War, of which three were shot down by USAF F-15s, one by a USAF F-16, and one by a Dutch F-16. One aircraft, according to pilot, was hit by friendly fire from the ground. Another four were destroyed on the ground. Some Russian sources claim that a MiG-29 shot down an F-16 on 26 March 1999, but this kill is disputed, as the F-16C in question was said to have crashed in the US that same day.
Most historians attribute the downing of a F-117 as being shot down by SAM commander Zoltan Dani. Some sources claimed it was shot down by a MiG-29 piloted by Lt. Col. Gvozden Đukić, which was the nom de guerre of Zoltan Dani.
The Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro continued flying its remaining five MiG-29s at a very low rate after the war. In spring 2004, news appeared that MiG-29 operations had ceased, because the aircraft could not be maintained. In 2007, all five MiG-29 were sent to Russia to be refurbished, and upgraded. In 2008, the MiG-29s began returning to service with the Serbian Air Force. In the 2009 one Serbian MiG-29 crashed, the pilot and one soldier on the ground died.
