Why is the MiG-35 a bad idea for the Russian Aerospace System?
"MiG" between eras
The first thing to talk about when discussing the prospects of the MiG-35 is continuity. In fact, this is still the same MiG-29: for example, the Soviet engine RD-33 was chosen as the basis for the power plant, to be more precise, its upgraded version in the person of the RD-33MK. But the main difference of the new MiG from the basic version and various modifications of the 90's was the on-board electronics, which was revolutionary by the standards of Russia. The MiG-35 is the first Russian multifunctional fighter, which was equipped (or, let's say, very much wanted to be equipped) with an onboard radar with active phased antenna array (AFAR). It is about the "Beetle-A". We are not going to talk in detail about the benefits of AFAR, however, this technology gives an almost complete superiority in terms of quality over radar of obsolete types, for example, radar with passive phased antenna array, which, in particular, is equipped with Su-35С. This concerns, first of all, reliability, which is incomparably higher for a radar with AFAR: it is very difficult to disable all receiving and transmitting elements.
That is why radar with AFAR installed on the Su-57 and that is why the most developed countries have long been equipped with their own radar fighter of this type, despite their high cost. In this regard, there are no complaints about the MiG-35.
However, not everything is so smooth. If we summarize the available data, we can conclude that the radar with AFAR was offered only to the Indians under the MMRCA tender: India eventually refused the Russian machine. But the "native" Air Force can get a version of the aircraft, equipped with an archaic radar station "Zhuk-M", which has a slit antenna array, which can hardly meet modern requirements.
You can not please fans of the MiG-35 and the number of purchased vehicles. In August, 2018, it became known that the Air Force should receive, within the framework of the contract, six two-seater MiG-XNUMHUB and single-seat MiG-35С. On May 8, 35, an informed source told Interfax that the Russian Defense Ministry would receive at least six MiG-2019 fighters annually. However, if there are no specific agreements, this information is not valid. Talk about "mass deliveries of the MiG-35" is about the same as the project itself.
Finally, it is worth turning to the most important thing - the reasons why the Russian military do not buy an airplane. And this is not only about radar stations. Everything is somewhat more complicated.
Flying in a dream, not waking
“I would say that this is a new aircraft that surpasses our foreign competitors,” Ilya Tarasenko, general director of the Mikoyan firm, said recently in an interview. The director general prudently did not name specific machines that, according to him, are superior to the brainchild of the MiG. If for Russia the plane, as we already said, is really innovative, then, to put it mildly, it is difficult to surprise Europe, the USA or China. European fighters of the 4 ++ generation (the same one to which MiG belongs) - the Typhoon and Rafale - have long had a radar with an active phased antenna array. And Americans can boast not only the most advanced radar, but also stealth, which neither the MiG-29 nor the 35 has.
And how does the car look on the background of the new brainchild of Sukhoi? Russia still does not have a single serial Su-57, but purely formally, its superiority over the MiG is complete. This applies to literally everything: speed, flight range, stealth indicators, combat load. On-board electronics: Su-57 radar with AFAR has 1526 receiving-transmitting modules, while Beetle-A has received 680 MRP (however, this is about early modification).
The attempts of some experts to pass the MiG-35 for a “cheap lightweight fighter” look rather strange. MiG-35 can be called whatever you like, but only not "easy" and, even more so, not "cheap." The mass of the empty MiG-35 is significantly greater than the mass of the empty F-15C, which many in Russia refer to as "heavy" fighters. The price of the MiG-35 is not exactly known, but considering the relatively modern on-board electronics, it is unlikely to be much lower than that of the Su-35С.
In general, it is high time to abandon the division of fighters into "light" and "heavy." Any modern fighter aircraft is by default an ultra-expensive machine that has a very solid mass. Just look at the French Rafale or American F-35. Here you can argue and recall the Chinese Chengdu J-10, but it is most appropriate to consider it as a transitional plane under conditions when the country (China) did not have the opportunity to create an analogue of the Su-27 or F-15. Now such opportunities already exist.
Attack without clones
In one of his past materials, the author tried to give a modest assessment of the current state of the fleet of fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces, or to be more precise, I tried to make out such a crucial question for modern Air Force as unification. It is appropriate to give an illustrative example. As it is known, all three versions of F-35 - F-35A, F-35B and F-35С - have a degree of unification approximately 80%. The most important thing is that cars are equipped with practically identical engines and identical radars.
What do we see by the example of the Air and Space Forces of Russia? The military went a rather strange way by purchasing large batches of Su fighters having the same purpose, but completely different sets of on-board electronics. And in general, differing just as much as airplanes made on one basis (in our case, Su-27) can differ. In general, it is rather difficult to understand why Su-30CM was purchased in parallel with Su-35С, which, among other things, seems to be a much more modern machine. After all, Su-30CM is in a broad sense simply a “Russified” version of a far from new Su-30МКИ. And we are silent about the Su-27СМ3, Su-30М2 and MiG-29СМТ.
However, in spite of everything, it is absolutely clear that the Air Force will not refuse from the previously concluded contracts. But to abandon the MiG-35 is possible, and it would be the most sensible solution. It should be repeated: this car has no objective advantages over its analogues, except, perhaps, a more advanced radar. However, Su-35C and Su-30CM have a very large modernization potential in terms of avionics, so that it is unlikely that Sukhoy will not be able to catch up. Especially since the first serial Su-57, which (in theory) can be so "liked" by the military, should be born soon, so that they will refuse from further purchases of fourth-generation fighters. It has to be said that ideally it should have happened. But this is the ideal. In practice, any new aircraft needs many years of refinement, which is clearly seen in the example of the F-35.
“Su-35 purchases will continue after the completion of the current contract, an increase in the order for Su-57 will not affect this in any way,” RIA said recently “News"A source in the Russian Defense Ministry. The coexistence of generation fighters 4 ++ and the fifth generation can not be called the Russian "know-how." It would be appropriate to recall the idea of Americans buying F-15X in parallel with F-35. But, again, this in no way testifies in favor of the new brainchild of the MiG.
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