One of the greatest combat aircraft of all time, development of the MiG-29 was initiated with the goal of creating a fighter with such exceptional performance, that any western examples would be severely outclassed. During the new interceptor’s first flight, it proved itself able to combat, if not outperform the F/A-18 Hornet and the equally legendary F-16 Fighting Falcon. Despite the fall of the USSR, MiG-29s saw no loss in export popularity to many countries in need of good fighters to replace outdated ones or compensate for the lack of pilot ability. Although MiG-29s in reality have never been very effective in air battles, that's mainly due to poor pilot ability, or as in Iraq's case, being greatly outnumbered in battle. The secret to the MiG-29's success was that it was highly maneuverable and allowed the pilot to use his skill and judgment in battle, a feature not found (or encouraged) in many earlier Soviet types.
Considering the Fulcrum was designed as a lightweight fighter to counter contemporary American lightweight fighters, it would need to possess a modernized cockpit with an HUD (Heads-Up Display), a fly-by-wire system and the ability to engage both air and ground targets (though with a greater focus on air superiority). It had to be able to outmaneuver the extremely agile American fighters to put itself on an even standing with American technological superiority. Development was initiated in the early 1970s, but not until seven years later did the first prototype leave the ground on a successful test flight. After several modifications were done on the prototypes to the fins and airframes, the Red Air Force immediately ordered a number of MiG-29 "Fulcrum A" fighters which began to arrive in 1983. After a period of time in Russian service, it soon became clear that while the Fulcrum was a high performer, it was plagued with technical problems that didn't hamper the aircrafts effectiveness but caused maintenance expenses to spike.
The initial MiG-29s were known to NATO as "Fulcrum A's" and no official Soviet suffix was added to their designation. Exported versions of the original MiG-29 were also known as the "Fulcrum A", but models sent to non-Warsaw Pact countries were substantially downgraded. The MiG-29 "Fulcrum A" was the most widely produced single-seat version before the fall of the USSR, and all later MiG-29 variants were derivatives of the base "Fulcrum A" model.
The "Fulcrum A" (Russian service version, not the downgraded export model) single-seat light fighter boasted swept wings, dual tails, a streamlined fuselage and dual Klimov RD-33 afterburning thrust turbofan engines putting out 8312 Kg of power each. The two-piece glass canopy grants the pilot excellent visibility and sits atop a cockpit dominated by dials. Despite not utilizing more advanced TV-screens in place of dials, the cockpit lacks the clutter found on many of its Soviet predecessors. At the center stood a K-36D ejection, and at the pilot's disposal was one of the MiG-29's most revered features, an HUD (Heads-Up-Display) with look-down shoot-down capabilities. The pilot merely had to look towards his target, and his AAMs (Air-to-Air Missiles) would automatically lock on. Advanced avionics and electronics equipment such as pulse-doppler radar, infrared sensors and N-019 radar ensure the MiG-29 is able to discern events unfolding around it in a combat situation. No less than ten targets may be tracked at a time from over 250 km away. The MiG-29's pulse-doppler radar enables them to identify fast moving targets by measuring velocity in relation to the MiG-29's position. In a twist of events, if an enemy locks on to a MiG-29 "Fulcrum A" using its own pulse Doppler radar, the MiG-29 is able to climb vertically until it totally runs out of speed and "slip" down the path it took tail first. It can then right itself with no loss of control, and the maneuver will break the lock of an enemy's pulse-doppler radar. This is called a tail slide maneuver, and is something almost no fighter other than the Fulcrum can do.
The sloped underside of the MiG-29's fuselage enhances its maneuverability as well as its large wing and tail-plane surfaces. Under the wings, missiles, drop tanks and even ground-attack munitions such as rockets and cluster bombs may be stored, giving it great versatility. A single GsH-301 30mm cannon with 150 rounds, AA-8 Aphid, AA-10 Alamo and AA-11 Archer missiles are the standard AAM armament carried on most Fulcrum sorties.
Shortly following the MiG-29 which equipped many air forces including Hungary, East Germany, the USSR and Poland, a MiG-29UB "Fulcrum-B" was developed as a combat capable two-seater intended to be used for pilot training. It lacked radar, instead equipping infra-red sensor equipment. Following the "Fulcrum B" was the MiG-29S/SM "Fulcrum C", a variant upgraded multiple times which resulted in extensive range, a heavier weapons load, the ability to use accurate Air-to-Ground (AG) munitions, and jamming equipment. These variants all had excellent export successes; although the majority of them were pre-downgraded before they were delivered to their relative buyers. India, North Korea, Peru, and several Middle-Eastern nations were among the customers of these variants. Even the USA received MiG-29s, although not by purchase. Moldova, worried that too many militant groups expressed interest in its Fulcrums, asked America to keep the fighters safe until the danger had passed, and America agreed.
A naval variant was also developed, although it saw the most success serving in post-USSR Russia. Codenamed the "Fulcrum D" by NATO, it served in the MiG-29K variant with a strengthened undercarriage, folding wings for deck storage, and an arrestor hook, and the MiG-29KUB two-seat trainer variant. Both had combat capabilities and served on Russian carriers, and early examples were distinguishable by their jet-black paint scheme.
The MiG-29M (MiG-33 Export designation) was the deadliest MiG-29 variant at the time of its unveiling, and added a fly-by-wire system, as well as corrected many of the technical flaws plaguing early MiG-29s. No orders were placed, and the MiG-29M "Fulcrum E" was scrapped. However, certain features of the MiG-29M were used to upgrade the MiG-29s of various export customers, and also surfaced again in the recent MiG-35 "Fulcrum F" variant. The MiG-35 is the ultimate Fulcrum, with none of its predecessor's maintenance problems, fly-by-wire systems, modern avionics, and a heavy load of multi-role weaponry. It is currently being advertised for export, and is a competing for a large Indian fighter contract. An attempt to create a single engined version of the MiG-29 called the LFI was successful, but when rising expenses forced Mikoyan-Gurevich to choose between continuing to develop the LFI or the MFI project, the MFI was deemed more important. Instead, the rights to the LFI were sold to China, where it became the FC-1 Xialong multi-role fighter.
Written by: Pace51