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MiG-29K: Russia's Aircraft Carrier to Be Stocked With Formidable Warplanes

© Flickr / Pavel VankaMig-29K
Mig-29K - Sputnik International
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More than twenty advanced MiG-29K ship-based fighter jets will enter service with the Russian Navy before the end of 2016, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

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The Russian Navy is due to get more than twenty MiG-29K ship-based all-weather multirole fighters by the year-end, media reports quoted Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu as saying.

The MiG29K is a 4++ generation jet which can efficiently engage in high-maneuverability combat by using its cannon and missiles for aerial combat as well as for destroying targets on surface.

© AP Photo / Sergey PonomarevRussian MiG-29K takes off at a MAKS Air Show at Zhukovsky airfield outside Moscow
Russian MiG-29K takes off at a MAKS Air Show at Zhukovsky airfield outside Moscow - Sputnik International
Russian MiG-29K takes off at a MAKS Air Show at Zhukovsky airfield outside Moscow

Notably, the MiG29K, which can also function as a tanker-aircraft, is Russia's first fighter capable of taking off from a carrier with acceleration and take-off roll.

The plane is, among other things, equipped with folding wings, a four-channel digital fly-by-wire flight control system and electronic countermeasures.

The MiG29K's electronic-warfare capabilities add greatly to the plane's survivability, which is also supported by a combination of low-observable technology, reduced ballistic vulnerability, and standoff weapons. 

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Also, it is worth noting that the extensive use of radar-absorbent composite materials reduces the MiG-29K's radar signature 4–5 times over the basic version of the MiG-29.

Its weapons systems include guided air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, guided aerial bombs and a built-in 30 mm caliber cannon. The plane has a maximum speed of 2,200 kilometers per hour, and a ferry range of 2,000 kilometers without an external fuel tank.

Meanwhile, Igor Kozhin, head of naval aviation at the Russian Navy, has said that the aviation's main task in 2016 will be to finish creating a regiment of MiG29Ks for the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.

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