According to media reports such as "Defense News", Russia is currently seeking mass production of the MiG-35 to supplement the losses of fighter jets caused by the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict.

  MiG-35

  A summary and analysis of relevant reports in recent years can be found that there are two main reasons why Russia plans to mass-produce MiG-35 this time. First, although Russia's aviation industry is actually in a wartime mobilization production system, the production capacity of the Su-27 series is still not enough to make up for the retirement gap caused by direct combat losses, high-intensity combat, and shortened body life. Second, the range performance of the MiG-35 has been improved by 50%, which can meet the current combat needs of the Russian army, and the manufacturing and use costs are also lower than that of the Su-30SM and Su-35.

  Around 2017, Russia signed a mass procurement contract for the MiG-35, with the first batch of procurement of 24 aircraft. This batch of MiG-35s was originally scheduled to be delivered by 2027 to replace the Russian Aerospace Force's old-fashioned MiG-29. But in fact, it was not until 2023 that the Russian United Airlines Manufacturing Group (MiG Aircraft Manufacturing Company incorporated into the group in 2021) completed the delivery and installation of the first six mass-produced MiG-35s.

  Similar to the relationship between Su-35 and Su-27, MiG-35 is a modern modification of MiG-29. The reason why Migoyang Group is based on the MiG-29 modified MiG-35 starts with the unsalable sales of MiG-29 after the Cold War.

  MiG-29 and Su-27 are sister models. The overall layout of the two is similar and developed based on the same aerodynamic pre-research results and overall design opinions. In terms of performance, the Su-27 series aircraft has a larger tonnage size and has significant advantages in the radar's antenna diameter and load range capability. The MiG-29 has more advantages in structural stiffness and energy characteristics. When flying with plug-ins, its maneuverability is better than that of the Su-27.

  Although they are sister models, the subsequent developments of the two were completely different after the end of the Cold War. The range performance of the MiG-29 is weaker than that of the Su-27, and the MiG-29, which was exported in large quantities during the Cold War, was often at a disadvantage in local wars after the 1990s, which also weakened the reputation and attractiveness of the aircraft. This made the export sales of MiG-29 lower than that of Su-27 after the Cold War.

  MiG-29K

  In response to these problems, MiG Aircraft Manufacturing Company has made great efforts to improve and has made new designs for the MiG-29 family in aerodynamics, structure, flight control and avionics. The MiG-35 is the culmination of this series of work.

  For example, the MiG-35 is equipped with a digital fly-by-wire flight control system, allowing it to adopt a static and unstable layout. MiG Aircraft Manufacturing Company has also modified its aerodynamic structure, such as replacing the front fuselage side strip with sharp edges, to achieve an improvement in its maneuverability. In terms of airborne equipment and structure, compared with MiG-29, MiG-35 has canceled the original auxiliary air intake design and replaced it with an air intake protection net design. The wing structure is also enlarged, and the aircraft has a larger in-flight space for fuel and electronic equipment, and reduces the wing load.

  In avionics systems, the MiG-35 has also achieved significant evolution compared to the MiG-29. Most airborne equipment has reached a level similar to the Su-30SM2 and Su-35S, and can achieve target data sharing, weapon collaborative launch, electronic warfare cover, etc. with these aircraft. However, the MiG-35 mass-produced model is not equipped with the "Beetle-A" active phased array radar, but is equipped with mechanical scanning radar.

  "Beetle-A" Active Phased Array Radar

  In a short period of time, it is highly likely that the MiG-35 will find it difficult to obtain the "Beetle-A" active phased array radar. The Russian Ryazan Instrument Group, which is currently responsible for the production of the "Beetle-A" radar, has not displayed the product in the official product list. Judging from Russia's industrial structure, it is likely that it is due to the lack of domestic production capabilities of advanced components such as high-performance chips and gallium nitride devices.

  If Russia wants to increase the production capacity of the MiG-35, in addition to the lack of advanced radar, the re-establishment of the production line will also be a major challenge. "Defense News" quoted the words of a former MiG Aircraft Manufacturing Company engineer, saying that Moscow's "Labor Flag" factory has been deserted for many years. Now the main force in the aircraft manufacturing task is Luhovici Machinery Manufacturing Plant, which has limited production capacity and has only assembled two pre-production aircraft in 2016. In addition, Russia lacks relevant technical, management backbone and skilled workers. Relatively speaking, the production capacity of the MiG-35 engine is more sufficient, because the RD-33MK engine has been maintained in many countries.

  Among the Su-27's support equipment, the proportion that cannot be used with the MiG-29 is extremely high.

  In addition to production issues, the Russian Aerospace Forces will also encounter logistical challenges if it wants to equip MiG-35 on a large scale. The Russian Aerospace Forces retain a large number of MiG-29s, but according to statistics from third-party open source intelligence agencies, the Russian army in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has almost no record of combat damages for MiG-29 series aircraft; while the Su-27 series represented by Su-34 has a very high combat damage ratio. One of the reasons is that operating the Su-27 and MiG-29 aircraft groups at high intensity at first-line airports requires strong capabilities. In difficult situations, the Russian Aerospace Forces can only choose one of two when deploying fighter jets.

  It is very difficult to unify and standardize logistics support.

  Due to historical factors, the Soviet army has not completed the construction of a general system for logistics maintenance between different fighter jets. Between the Su-27 and MiG-29 families, various auxiliary facilities and equipment involved in maintenance and repair, including transport vehicles, refueling vehicles, tooling fixtures, and even pylons. This means that it is difficult to ensure the normal ammunition loading, fuel replenishment, inspection and maintenance of the MiG-29 series fighter jets. Of course, after paying a certain cost, such difficulties can be overcome. For example, the Ukrainian army has accumulated rich experience in using the MiG-29 and Su-27 at the same time. Of course, Ukraine's move is likely to be due to insufficient aircraft equipment and no choice.

  In summary, Russia still has many difficulties in mass production of the MiG-35, and after the large-scale mass production of the MiG-35, the cost of service equipment will be relatively high. This poses a major challenge to the replenishment of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]