Indian Navy Expresses Confidence in MiG-29K Naval Fighters; Jets to Deploy From Carriers Vikrant and Vikramaditya

The Indian Navy placed its first orders for a dozen MiG-29K carrier based twin engine fighters in 2004, with the aircraft planned for deployment onboard the carrier INS Vikramaditya - a former Soviet Kiev Class warship refitted and extensively modernised to accommodate the new jets. The medium weight multirole aircraft were developed as a navalised variant of the MiG-29M - a ‘4++ generation’ jet incorporating  some of Russia’s latest sensor and avionics systems at the time and designed to make full use of cutting edge new standoff munitions. The Indian Navy currently deploys 45 of the the naval fighter jets, making it the largest operator of the fighter class in the world. 26 of these are deployed from the country’s aircraft carrier, with the remainder shared between two naval air stations on the country’s east and west coasts.

Despite being the least costly carrier based fighters in production anywhere in the world, they are capable of outperforming rival platforms in a number of their specifications - specifically in terms of speed, operational altitude and manoeuvrability. The Indian Navy plans to deploy the MiG-29K onboard its first domestically built carrier, the INS Vikrant, and will acquire further combat jets with updated capabilities for this purpose. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba announced that issues related to maintenance and availability of spare parts for the MiG-29K fleet, which had previously undermined  their readiness, had been resolved. The Admiral added that the defence ministry was working to resolve payment issues relating to American sanctions - with the U.S. Treasury imposing imposing penalties on clients for Russian arms under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Admiral Lanba noted regarding the MiG-29K, when addressing the press on the eve of Navy Day: “there is no issue on supplies of spare parts from Russia at the moment… The MiG-29K fleet has been performing well now.” According to a 2016 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, serviceability of MiG-29K fighters in Indian service was unsatisfactory - at just 37.63%. Recent efforts made by the two countries however have improved serviceability to around 70%. The fighters are ideally suited to deploy from carriers using a ski jump launch system such as the Vikrant and Viramaditya. These carriers and their air wings are set to be considerably less costly both to operate and to commission than their planned successor, INS Vishal, which is to deploy Western fighters better suited to making use of an electromagnetic launch system (EMALS) - which will be installed on the new carrier in place of a ski jump.