Developed from the mid-2000s as a closely enhanced by-product of and successor to the Soviet MiG-29, the MiG-35 medium weight fighter program had by the center of the 2020s fallen far wanting expectations, with simply six plane in service and no obvious plans to provide extra. Whereas the improved MiG-29M fighter had seen appreciable success on export markets, with 46 bought to Egypt, 14 to Algeria, and 45 and 24 provider primarily based MiG-29K derivatives for service within the navies of India and Russia itself respectively, the MiG-35 by no means acquired overseas or home orders at anyplace close to the degrees predicted. Experiences from early 2025, nevertheless, point out that this will change in future, because the Russian Defence Ministry and the state owned United Plane Company reportedly plan to facilitate manufacturing of the plane on a big scale for the Russian Aerospace Forces. Such orders have the potential to revive this system, and permit lots of the new applied sciences developed over the previous decade, nearly all of them for Russia’s new Su-57 fifth era fighter, to be built-in onto the lighter MiG plane, thereby enhancing its fight potential and making it a much more aggressive performer on worldwide markets. 5 of probably the most vital new applied sciences which the fighter may combine are explored under:
R-77M Air-to-Air Missiles
A major limitation of Russian fighters in comparison with their American, Chinese language and even European counterparts has been a scarcity of high performing air-to-air missiles. Whereas the R-77-1 represents a broad equal to the American AIM-120C5 and Chinese language PL-12, not solely did Russia operationalise the missile comparatively late round 2014, nevertheless it additionally fielded no counterpart to the Chinese language PL-15 and PL-16 or to the American AIM-120D or AIM-260. Consequently when going through high performing enemy fighters, Russian pilots working the Su-35, MiG-35, or different trendy fight jets are outranged by near 100 kilometres, and in some circumstances extra, when utilizing their commonplace armament, whereas having considerably decrease kill possibilities even inside quick ranges. The R-77M developed for the Su-57 fighter has the potential to largely bridge the hole in efficiency, and has a spread of roughly 200 kilometres in comparison with simply 110 kilometres for the R-77-1. The missile is reported to make use of an AESA radar in its homing head for larger immunity to jamming and an extended goal lock on vary, whereas its energetic phased array antenna know-how is meant to offer the missile with a fuller and wider angle image of its goal making it far tougher to evade. For the MiG-35 to compete with trendy Chinese language and American fighters such because the fight confirmed J-10C within the air-to-air area, integration of the R-77M or a equally succesful weapon is taken into account important.
izdeliye 810 Air-to-Air Missiles
The izdeliye 810 has been developed as a miniaturised by-product of the R-37M very lengthy vary air-to-air missile, and reportedly entered service in early 2025 with an engagement vary of over 300 kilometres. Whereas the MiG-35 was beforehand reported by Russian state sources to be suitable with the R-37M, not solely does the fighter lack the operational altitude or cruising pace wanted to make absolutely efficient use of it, however the missile’s very giant dimension means it is going to take a big toll on the MiG-35’s flight efficiency and go away little carrying capability for different ordinance. Integration of the rather more compact izdeliye 810 has the potential to offer the MiG-35 with the longest air-to-air engagement vary for a fighter of its weight vary with out comparable compromises to its efficiency. The fighter’s comparatively small radar by Russian requirements, nevertheless, will not be thought-about able to guiding the missile to targets at its absolutely vary, which means it is going to must be networked with different belongings resembling MiG-31 interceptors or forward-deployed ground-based methods to offer steerage.
Fashionable Radar and Helmet-Mounted Focusing on System
The MiG-35 was initially anticipated to be the primary Russian fighter to enter service with an energetic electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, theZhuk-A/AM, though the six plane bought by the Defence Ministry all built-in the older Zhuk-ME passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar. This was reportedly finished to cut back prices, though there was vital hypothesis that the choice was taken resulting from delays in growing the Zhuk-A/AM. Russia’s radar business has since progressed considerably, with the Su-57 fighter’s N036-1-01 frontal AESA radar set to get replaced within the close to future on the brand new Su-57M1 variant with a subsequent era AESA radar. A extra succesful AESA radar for the MiG-35, probably primarily based on that of the Su-57M1, may considerably bolster situational consciousness and digital warfare capabilities. Whereas different Russian tactical fight jets such because the Su-35 and MiG-31 combine a lot bigger radars than their Western counterparts, permitting them to compensate for shortcomings in sophistication with sheer dimension and energy, the MiG-35’s can’t carry bigger radars, which means integration of probably the most refined sensor suite doable is important.
Alongside a brand new radar, different avionics also can assist to considerably enhance situational consciousness. In December 2024 Russian state mediaunveiled a brand new helmet-mounted concentrating on system for the Su-57, which resembles comparable methods used on the Chinese language J-20 and American F-35 fifth era fighters that work by projecting crucial info immediately onto the pilot’s visor. This includesflight and concentrating on information, offering a way more complete view of the operational atmosphere.
New Cruise Missile and Guided Bomb
The Kh-59MK2 cruise missile was designed as the first air to floor armament of the Su-57 fighter, and if built-in onto the MiG-35 may present a formidable lengthy vary strike functionality that closely compensates for the fighter’s lack of stealth capabilities. The missile class optimised for neutralising small hardened targets at lengthy ranges of near 300km, and carries both a 320 kilogram penetrating warhead, or a smaller pellet warhead designed to have an effect on targets over a wider space. Different warheads proposed have included a extra highly effective penetrator and a cluster munition provider.An extra class of air-to-ground ordinance developed for the Su-57, however with vital potential to be built-in onto the MiG-35, is the PBK-500U Drel 500kg precision guided glide bomb. Glide bombs have emerged throughout the Russian-Ukrainian Struggle as a weapon of alternative for precision strikes and shut air assist, and whereas delivering far larger portions of ordnance and at a far decrease price than cruise missiles, they will nonetheless be launched from ample distances that fighters are comparatively secure from being focused by most surface-to-air missile methods.
The Drel bomb supplies “hearth and overlook” capabilities, which means they don’t require illumination of its targets or wire steerage by an plane, and as a substitute use inertial and GLONASS satellite tv for pc steerage and an identification good friend or foe system correct sufficient to interact fast-paced targets. Every bomb accommodates fifteen self-guided anti-tank ingredient expenses which weigh round fifteen kilograms every, with these excessive payload sub munitions mixed with the bomb’s precision permitting a really small variety of Drel bombs to trigger great harm that may require a number of bombing runs if utilizing older bombs. Though the MiG-35 has a a lot decrease takeoff weight, it will probably carry comparable quantities of ordinance to a stealth configured Su-57 because it doesn’t must retailer its weaponry internally.
Digital Warfare Suite
As has been the case for a lot of ‘4+ era’ fighters, MiG-35’s designers might compensate for the fighter’s lack of stealth capabilities by inserting a robust emphasis on integrating a robust digital warfare suite. One chance is that the fighter may combine a by-product of the Su-57’s Himalayas suite, which is distributed throughout the stealth fighter’sincluding on the wings, permitting it to raised intervene with enemy concentrating on methods and shield the fighter from missile assaults from all instructions. Russian media stories point out that the suite’s lengthy vary exceeds the efficient use radius of most Western air-to-air missiles. Integration of such an digital warfare suite, or probably a collection developed utilizing extra superior applied sciences developed for the newer Su-57M1 fighter, may considerably enhance the MiG-35’s survivability. Integration of derivatives of the Su-57’s avionics onto one other plane could be removed from unprecedented, with a notable instance being the combination of a communications platform carefully primarily based on that of the stealth fighter onto modernised Tu-22M3M bombers.
Engines
Within the Nineties Russian business accomplished improvement of an enhanced variant of the MiG-29’s RD-33 engine, the RD-33M which considerably lowered gas consumption, ended black smoke emissions, and elevated most thrust by 9 p.c from 81kN to 88.26kN. The MiG-35 has continued to depend on these ageing engines, and will see its flight efficiency, vary, and the quantity of power out there for onboard subsystems all improved considerably if integrating a extra trendy powerplant that utilises extra of the applied sciences developed up to now 30 years. Specifically, a smaller engine developed primarily based on the applied sciences used within the Su-57M1 fighter’s AL-51F powerplant may assist to considerably scale back operational prices and upkeep wants, whereas offering a flight efficiency unrecognisable from that of the unique MiG-35. With the fighter’s vary being a major deficiency relative to heavier courses of fighter, a contemporary engine may do a lot to bridge the efficiency hole, whereas main financial savings on operational prices may assist to compensate for the larger price of manufacturing a extra superior engine.
