MiG-35 warplane to become Russia’s sole light fighter jet

Russia’s United Aircraft-Building Corporation is holding an international presentation of the most advanced MiG-35 fighter.

Russia’s entire light fighter aviation will soon be armed with Mikoyan MiG-35 (NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-F) aircraft, Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Viktor Bondarev said on Friday.

"Some time will pass and we’ll replace the entire light fighter element precisely with this class," he said.

MiG-35 fighter jets will also be delivered to the Swifts aerobatic team, which currently flies MiG-29 aircraft, he added.

"I believe that the day is not far away when we’ll retrain the Swifts to operate this splendid plane," the Aerospace Force commander-in-chief said.

"The development of the MiG-35 is actually a victory," the general said. 

Russia’s most advanced Mikoyan fighter jet will be able to use laser weapons:

"This plane can use all the types of the newest weaponry and laser weapons as well."

"Thank you very much for this splendid creation, which has confirmed once again that there are no planes better than those in Russia," the general said, addressing the aircraft designers.

"It is capable of engaging in super-maneuverable air fights and strike targets both at sea and in the air. We’ll always have the best aerodynamics. We had some gaps in the work on engines but we have proved with the development of the Su-30SM and Su-34 aircraft that we have the best engines," the commander said.

Russia’s United Aircraft-Building Corporation is holding an international presentation of the most advanced MiG-35 fighter whose flight tests began on Thursday. The Mig-35 is a 4++-generation multirole fighter jet developed on the basis of the serial-produced MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/M2 aircraft.

It was reported earlier that the Aircraft Corporation MiG was considering developing its own fifth-generation fighter jet as a light alternative to the T-50 PAK FA (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation) fighter created by the Sukhoi Design Bureau.

United Aircraft-Building Corporation General Designer Sergei Korotkov who earlier held the post of the MiG Corporation CEO called as "quite probable" the development of a new plane on the basis of the MiG-35 aircraft.