Russia Completes MiG-29KUB Aircraft Delivery To Indian Navy

Russia has completed the delivery of 29 MiG-29K/KUB aircraft to the Indian Navy.

Russia and India had signed a contract for the supply of 29 carrier-based MiG-29K/KUB for the INS Vikramaditya in 2010, Ilya Tarasenko, Director General of JSC Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, told RIA Novosti on Feb. 13.

MiG-29K/KUB aircraft are 4++ generation multi-role fighters intended for air-defence missions of naval forces, as well as for gaining air superiority.

The air craft are used for destroying sea and ground targets with high-precision guided weapons in all weather conditions.

Last month Russia announced that it would set-up an after-sales service center in India for maintenance of MiG-29 fighter jets for its foreign clients. “We offer the contractual after-sales service to our foreign clients. Beside the delivery of the aircraft, we are ready to create the maintenance centers on the territory of the client … Such a center to service MiG-29 jets is expected to be opened in India in 2017,” Sergey Korotkov, the vice-president of the United Aircraft Corporation for innovations said.

In July last year, India's  Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)’s report was tabled in the Indian parliament. The report had mentioned that the MiG-29K suffered from an unsatisfactory serviceability rate ranging from 15.93 per cent to 37.63 per cent.

Further the report had said that the aircraft was riddled with problems relating to airframe, its RD MK-33 engine and also the fly-by-wire system. “Aircraft is being technically accepted despite having discrepancies/anomalies,” the report said.

Moreover, the report had also said that MiG-29KUB (the trainer version), ranged from 21.30 per cent to 47.14 per cent. “It is clear that the serviceability of MiG-29K was unsatisfactory,” the report said.

The CAG said the life of the aircraft was 6,000 hours or 25 years and with issues facing the plane, the operational life of the aircraft already delivered would be reduced.