Russian Aerospace behemoth RAC MiG has now offered to localise the production of MiG-35 fighter jet in India. Russian Aircraft Corporation (RAC) is one of the seven contenders in the hunt to secure Ministry of Defence (MoD) tender seeking 110 fighter jets.
Indian Air Force (IAF) has received responses to its "request for information" (RFI) from the world's topmost fighter aircraft manufacturers. The RFI has got attention from all the fighter manufacturing fraternity with American companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Russian Aircraft Corporation, Dassault of France, Swedish firm Saab and European consortium, Eurofighter GmbH showing their interest to supply the aircraft desired by the IAF.
IAF has also received a series of options which includes four twin-engine aircraft the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Block III, Eurofighter Typhoon, MiG-35 and Rafale along with two single-engine fighters F-16 Block 70 and Gripen E.
According to The Tribune, the cooperation has an experience of over 50 years working with Indian Airforce. Speaking at the sidelines of Aero India show, MiG Director General Tarasenko Ilya said, "At present, we are the number one plane in the world and offer to localize the MiG-35 production in India. We have been here for more than 50 years (MiG-21 arrived in India in 1963). We have had excellent cooperation with India in the past and will continue it."
Tarasenko also added that, "We will meet all requirements of the MoD."
The company has already made presentations which highlight the technological advantages of MiG-35. Tarasenko further said the MiG-35 project would be fully localized based on tender requirements.
The Mikoyan MiG-35 is a Russian multirole fighter that is designed by Mikoyan, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). Its 4++ generation jet fighter, it is a further development of the MiG-29M/M2 and MiG-29K/KUB (naval variant) fighters.
Interestingly, MiG-35 was first officially presented at the 2007 Aero India air show. The company has also claimed that MiG-35 will be cheaper than at least 20 per cent as against the similar offer from the direct competitors.
The MiG-35 is loaded with new types of guided and unguided air-attack systems. The lethal weapon system of the fighter aircraft provides maximum effectiveness in combat against air as well as ground targets.
