LUKHOVITSY (Moscow Region), July 14. /TASS/. The serial production of Russia’s advanced Mikoyan MiG-35 (NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-F) fighter jet will begin within the next two years, MiG Aircraft Corporation CEO Ilya Tarasenko said on Friday.
"We are now holding the trials. Following their results, serial production will begin," the chief executive said, adding that this would happen in the next two years.
The MiG-35 is Russia’s most advanced 4++ generation multipurpose fighter jet developed on the basis of the serial-produced MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/M2 combat aircraft.
The fighter jet features improved flight and technical characteristics, the most advanced onboard radio-electronic equipment and a wide arsenal of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. The plane can develop a speed of 2.23 Mach and its operational radius exceeds the range of its predecessor MiG-29 by 50%
The flight tests of MiG-35 fighter aircraft began on January 26 and the plane’s international presentation was held in the Moscow Region on the following day.
Russia’s state armament program through 2020 stipulates the deliveries of MiG-35 fighter jets to Russia’s Aerospace Force. Commander-in-Chief of Russia’s Aerospace Force Viktor Bondarev said earlier that the purchases of over 30 such fighter jets were planned.