Russia’s MiG has announced a MiG-35 production and marketing agreement with state-owned Kazakhstan Engineering.
Russian Aircraft Corporation “MiG”, part of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), has signed an agreement with state-owned Kazakhstan Engineering concerning the production of MiG-35 components in Kazakhstan and joint marketing of the aircraft.
The MiG-35 is one of the stars of the MAKS 2017 air show being held near Moscow from 18th to 23rd July. The accord was announced on 19th July at the show.
MiG officials see the agreement as a first step towards an order for the multirole combat aircraft, the latest addition to the MiG-29 family. An official presentation ceremony was held by UAC in January at MiG’s Lukhovitsy production site. Several prototypes have been built, and flight testing is currently under way. Officials say they expect a production go-ahead within the next two years.
Russia has yet to place an order for the MiG-35, but senior Russian Air Force officials have reportedly outlined plans to ultimately replace all MiG-29s currently in service in the Russian Air Force with MiG-35s.
The MiG-35 is on offer to a number of potential export customers, including India, but the company does not plan to start active marketing campaigns until series production has been launched.