MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Defense Ministry is not abandoning the purchase of MiG-35 fighter jets and could sign a deal next week, Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said Saturday.
The contract could be signed at Moscow’s MAKS International Aviation and Space show, which will run from August 27 through September 1, while first deliveries could start in 2015-2016, he said.
Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said Tuesday the ministry had postponed the purchase of 37 MiG-35’s until 2016 because the defense industry cannot fulfill the contract, and would buy 16 MiG-29SMT fighter jets instead.
The ministry was due to sign a 37 billion rubles ($1.1 billion) deal with MiG in June, but last month the aircraft corporation's CEO Sergei Korotkov told RIA Novosti the contract had still not been signed.
The Mikoyan MiG-35 (Fulcrum-F) is a 4++ generation fighter jet and a modification of the MiG-29M. It is equipped with air-to-air and air-to-surface guided missiles, as well as the Zhuk-A radar system.
