The MiG Corporation took advantage of the huge media exposure at the Paris Air Show to announce that their new MiG 35 may join units as soon as 2019.
The MiG-35, designed to replace MiG-29s rounding out their fourth decade in service, was absent from Paris but will be featured at the MAKS international airshow near Moscow in July as engineers finalize testing on the aircraft, said Anastasia Kravchenko, public relations director for MiG.
“If we’re talking about fifth-generation technologies, we can safely say that we have some of them integrated and not in tests, but in use by this jet,” said Kravchenko, speaking to Military.com through a translator.
Some of those technologies include stealth capabilities, extreme maneuverability, and increased power: 12 percent more than previous models, she said. – DefenseTech
There had been reports that the MiG 35 would feature vectored thrust engines like the F-22 Raptor but now it appears that will only be offered as an option to potential buyers of the aircraft. The fighter is being touted as an extremely durable combat aircraft designed to withstand some anti aircraft fire. It can also land on very short unprepared airfields and be stored outside of a hangar for several months.
Featured image via public domain, via Wikimedia Commons