The Mikoyan MiG-29 is an aircraft of legendary status. Literally legend, in the case of the “Ghost of Kiev”, a Ukrainian ace who allegedly shot down 40 Russian planes before being tragically shot down at the end of April. And in real life too: what started the Soviet response to the US F-15 and F-16 during the Cold War has its baptism by fire more than 30 years later.
The aircraft entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1986, replacing the aging MiG-23. At that time, the MiG-29 was used as an air superiority and ground attack aircraft (its war range is 1.430 km). Some units had the jet equipped with RN-40 tactical nuclear bombs.
The MiG-29 (codenamed Fulcrum in NATO) was developed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich company to cover the needs of the Soviet air force for a light multirole fighter. Its production was on a large scale, at least 1.600 aircraft were manufactured. Most (almost 900) were exported.
After Russia, the country with the largest active MiG-29 fleet is (or perhaps was) Ukraine. In warfare, they have mainly been used against airborne targets. It is in this that they have proved to be a force to be reckoned with, and are a crucial part of the war of attrition, trying to beat the Russians to their material and personal losses, which the Ukrainians are fighting.
What does the MiG have?
In dimensions, they are 17,37 meters long, 11,4 meters wide and 4,73 meters high, for a maximum take-off weight of 18 tons. Its propulsion comes from two Klimov RD-33 turbofans, which take the jet to a maximum speed of 2.400 km/h, at heights of up to 18.013 meters. These are specifications between those of the F-16 pact (14,8 m long, maximum take-off weight 16,8 t) and the big F-15 (19,4 m, 30 t) from the USA.
The fighter pilot has crosshairs on his helmet, which helps him launch precision missiles. The R-73 short range missile a sensitive and cooled seeker is one of its most capable and powerful air-to-air weapons. There is also the basic medium-range R-27 at speeds ranging from Mach 2.5 to Mach 5. The latest version of the MiG-29 has the capacity for up to six medium-range or eight short-range missiles, plus a 30mm cannon that fires up to 150 shots.
Ukraine has developed its own updated versions of the MiG-29 fighter at a cost of almost US$ 3,6 million (about R$ 17,6 million) the MiG-29MU1 and MiG-29MU2, implementing technologies between GRAM infrared and western unication systems . It is not known how many Ukrainian units still have technology and how many were upgraded before the start of the ongoing war with Russia, and the Ukrainian government has obvious reasons not to reveal.
Prior to the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian air force had 38 fully operational MiG-29 aircraft. Eight of them were being used for training. On the other hand, Russia has almost 260 units of the jet, some of them participating in operations over Ukraine. It's a MiG-29 versus MiG-29 situation, on two different upgraded platforms.
In official numbers, the Mig-29 was both the most lost plane in the war and the one that caused the most casualties to the enemy. Russia does not admit to losing any of them, while Ukraine has its legends of dozens of planes shot down by MiGs. The fog of propaganda war only lifts when there is peace. Until then, the aerial Kalashinikov will continue to be one of the protagonists of the battle.
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Image: Dragunov1981/iStock
