India’s Navy Receives First MiG-29Ks
Defense Aviation Week & Space Technology Mar 01 , 2010 , p. 34 Neelam Mathews Goa, India Russian fighter takes on bigger role in India’s defense Printed headline: MiG-29K Rebound The Indian navy has inducted the first four of 16 Mikoyan MiG-29K multi-role naval fighters and is establishing shore-based training while it pushes Russia to speed up arrival of the aircraft carrier they were bought for. The fighters were purchased in 2004 as part of a $1.5-billion deal that included the Kiev-class Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier. Their Feb. 19 induction ceremony marked the first new aircraft in the navy’s inventory in two decades. Now that India is beginning to receive shipments of MiG-29K naval fighters, flying here with a Sea Harrier in the lead, it is building a shore test facility for them in Goa. Pix Credit: INDIAN NAVY The navy has a pending deal to boost its MiG -29K inventory to 45 with a follow-on order for 29 aircraft. As a result, the new jets have become so hi...