From DefenseNews

 

Russian Air Force Withdraws 90 MiGs: Report

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Published: 13 Mar 11:48 EDT (15:48 GMT)

 

MOSCOW - Ninety of Russia's MiG-29 fighter jets have been rejected by military inspectors during checks after a crash in December, an air force spokesman said March 13, quoted by Interfax.

 

"So far from the overall fleet of MiG-29s, about 200 planes have been examined, of which 100 have been permitted to fly. About 90 MiG-29s have been withdrawn from flying," Col. Vladimir Drik said.

 

He added that checks were continuing on the rest of the MiG-29 fleet and that faulty planes would be repaired and put back in service as funds became available.

 

Interfax estimated Russia's total number of MiG-29s at 300.

 

Russia suspended MiG-29 flights in December when one of the jets crashed in Siberia, killing its pilot.

 

The crash was attributed to a technical fault and followed another MiG-29 crash in October in the Chita area.

 

First produced in the 1980s, MiG-29s have been exported through much of the world, notably being used by India's air force and by Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War.

 

Despite a revival in Russia's financial position in recent years, the country's military has continued to suffer embarrassing technical failures, most notably with its accident-prone submarines.

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog

 

Russian Air Force Grounds 90 MiG-29s

Posted by Sean Meade at 3/17/2009 12:01 PM CDT

 

Maxim Pyadushkin writes:

 

On March 13 the Russian Air Force officially reported it has grounded about 90 MiG-29 fighters after the technical inspection of around 200 the aircraft. The other aircraft are cleared for flights, said the report. The inspection was undertaken as part of the investigation of two MiG-29 crashes that took place near Chita, East Siberia, in October and December 2008. On that occasion the Air Force grounded its entire fleet of MiG-29s estimated at around 300 aircraft.

 

The first flights resumed only in the beginning of February when the investigation reportedly found out the crash was caused by the corrosion on the joint of metal plates from different alloys in the tail of the airframe. Now the Air Force continues to inspect the rest of the MiG-29 fleet. According to the military the aircraft with the corrosion problem “will be repaired by the approved procedures and return back to service”. The industry source confirmed to Ares that the problem with corrosion is not fatal and the “infected” aircraft can be restored without serious overhaul of the airframe.

From DefenseNews

 

India Worried After Russia Grounds MiG-29s

By vivek raghuvanshi

Published: 18 Mar 18:21 EDT (22:21 GMT)

 

NEW DELHI - Russia's decision to ground a large portion of its MiG-29 fighters is reverberating in India, where Defence Ministry sources say they are worried about the timely delivery of MiG-29K aircraft on order for the Navy and Air Force.

 

Sources also say the grounding could hurt the chances for the derivative MiG-35 in India's $10 billion Combat Aircraft order.

 

Indian Air Force (IAF) officials say they won't ground their 60 MiG-29s. The force is short of aircraft, fielding just 31 18-plane squadrons instead of the sanctioned 39.5 and desired 45 units.

 

Russian Air Force officials grounded their 200 MiG-29s after two crashes last year. Many have been returned to flight, but 90 will remain out of action until they can be upgraded.

 

The crashes may also affect talks, said to be near completion, between India and Russia for the purchase of more MiG-29Ks, ministry sources said. The Indian Navy ordered 16 in 2004 for $640 million.

 

The MiG-35 is also competing for the IAF's $10 billion order of 126 combat aircraft against the Lockheed Martin F-16, Boeing Hornet, Dassault Rafael, EADS Eurofighter and Saab Gripen.

 

A senior IAF official said the MiG-35 is structurally identical to the MiG-29 SMT, which includes advanced avionics, radar and enlarged dorsal spine for more fuel. But another IAF official said the MiG-35 is better than its predecessor and comparable to Eurofighter and the F-18.

 

India was the first, and today remains the largest, foreign operator of the MiG-29. Part of the Russian sales pitch is that it ensures commonality with existing planes.

 

Indian Defence Ministry sources said the grounding might hurt the MiG-35's chances, depending on what government holds power after India's May 16 general elections.

 

Sharad Deshpande, a retired Indian Air Force air marshal, said, "The IAF should be in close contact with the Russian design and maintenance experts and would have obtained details of the structural defects/problems experienced by the Russian Air Force. Based on the inputs available, the IAF would have started a thorough inspection of their MiG-29 fleet and taken requisite remedial actions. Under no circumstances would they clear MiG-29 for flying if there is any question mark on its structural integrity and flight safety parameters."

 

Defense analyst Mahindra Choudhary said the IAF and Navy should not buy the MiG-29 derivative, which may be increasingly hard to maintain.