Indian Navy in Ladakh? MiG-29K Carrier Based Fighters to Deploy From Airfields Near China’s Border - Reports

The Indian Navy is reportedly considering deploying its MiG-29K medium fighters far from their usual area of operations and close to the country’s northern border in the Ladakh region. This comes after major clashes with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in mid-June which saw Indian forces take over 150 casualties, with the country moving to militarise the border region since and deploying a range of assets including MiG-29UPG fighters and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The MiG-29 has proven to be the ideal fighter for deployment to the Ladakh region, as the aircraft is optimised for operations at high altitudes, can operate from short runways, had relatively low maintenance requirements and has one of the highest climb rates in the world. While India will have around 170 MiG-29s once two sets of recent orders have been delivered, the fighter is currently fielded in much smaller numbers than the Su-30MKI heavyweight jets which form the backbone of the country’s fleet. The Su-30MKI, and the newer Rafale fighter, are not well optimised for operations at high altitude. The Rafale’s climb rate is relatively low, while its altitude ceiling and speed are the lowest in the Indian Air Force meaning the MiG-29 remains India’s preferred fighter for operations in the mountainous border regions. 

MiG-29K jets operated by the Indian Navy have similar capabilities to the MiG-29UPG platforms used by the Air Force, and around 45 are in service operating from two bases near the south coast and from the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. It is expected that a deployment to the border region would be temporary until more MiG-29UPG fighters are delivered from Russia, with deliveries expected to begin before the end of the year. Unnamed government sources have been widely quoted by Indian media stating the following: ““It is being planned to deploy the MiG-29K fighter aircraft at an Indian Air Force base in the northern sector. They might be used for carrying out operational flying in the Eastern Ladakh sector along the Line of Actual Control (LAC),” although approval of plans for such operations has yet to be confirmed. The deployment coincides with major exercises being carried out by the Indian Navy, in what is widely considered to be a show of force targeting China. MiG-29K fighters are compatible with a wide range of advanced munition types including R-77 active radars guided long range air to air missiles, although the ability of these fighters to go head to head with the much heavier and more advanced jets deployed near the Chinese side of the border including J-16 ‘4+ generation’ heavyweight platforms remains highly questionable.