Egypt’s Latest MiG-29 Fighters To Get Infrared Search Stations And Electronic Warfare Pods

The new 50 Egyptian MiG-29 fighter jets ordered from Russia for more than $2 billion will be fitted with advanced infrared search and track (IRST) stations and electronic warfare pods.

The MiG-29s will feature the latest OLS-UE IRST capable of detecting enemy aircraft and also acquire surface threats by getting their coordinates. The system will also capture imagery on the display in the cockpit, Izvestia news daily reported quoting unnamed representatives of Precision Instrument Systems (PIS) who are part of the contract.

Other than the IRST, the fighter jets will be equipped with PPK targeting pod comprising of thermal imagery and laser range finders. The OLS-UE and PPK are manufactured by PIS.

The MiG-29s will also be equipped with MSP small-size electronic countermeasures (ECM) system from the Axel Berg Central Research Institute.

Egypt is expected to receive the first two aircraft by the end of this year and the rest by 2020. Egypt is likely to replace its aging fleet of MiG-21s and Chinese J-7s with MiG-29s.