Mikoyan MiG-29M

MiG-29M / M2 MiG-29SMT
MiG-29M2 at MAKS 2005
Role	Multirole fighter, Air superiority fighter
National origin	Russia
Manufacturer	Sokol plant
Designer	Mikoyan
Primary user	Russian Air Force
Developed from	Mikoyan MiG-29
Variants	Mikoyan MiG-29K
Developed into	Mikoyan MiG-35

The Mikoyan MiG-29M (Russian: Микоян МиГ-33, NATO reporting name "Fulcrum-E") is a fighter aircraft that was developed as an advanced variant of the Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO: "Fulcrum") fighter. Formerly named "MiG-33", it was originally designed by Mikoyan in the Soviet Union during the mid-1980s.

In the mid-1980s, a development of the original MiG-29 was proposed to meet the Soviet western front line requirement. It was required to be a multirole fighter for the front line defensive air force to gain offensive strike ability. This development resulted in a single seat and a double seat variant. The proposal was then grounded as a result of shifts in military strategy. The model was named "MiG-33" and later received the MiG-29ME designation for export market in the mid-1990s. A twin seat model of the standard, commonly known as the MiG-29MRCA, was the MAPO-MiG's primary contender for many international fighter aircraft bids, later evolved into the Mikoyan MiG-35. Six of these models were built before 1990. They were constantly upgraded with various components and one received experimental vector thrust engines which eventually became the MiG-29OVT. The model was again renamed as MiG-29M. The MiG-29M/M2 now belongs to the "new unified family" instead of the "MiG-29 fighters family" which comprise the older variants.

During the early 1990s, it became briefly popular for Sukhoi and Mikoyan to assign new designations for upgraded models to make them appear "new and improved" instead of just "improved". The VVS did not accept these marketing designations and most were soon dropped. Following Sukhoi's initiative in this approach, Mikoyan's first such offering was the MiG-29ME, which first publicly appeared as the MiG-33 at the 1994 Farnborough Airshow. The MiG-29ME was the export version of the MiG-29M (Product 9.15) "Super Fulcrum", a comprehensively upgraded, fully multirole version of the MiG-29.

Although the MiG-33 designation was soon dropped, the MiG-29M may have merited a new designation in that it is in many ways a thoroughly redesigned version of the MiG-29. While external differences are few, the MiG-29M was a fully "multifunctional" fighter capable of performing air-to-ground combat with precision-guided munitions (PGMs), along with air-to-air roles of earlier MiG-29 versions. Pilot-aircraft interfaces in the cockpit were also improved and a wide range of new-generation equipment installed. The aircraft's internal fuel capacity was also increased to add combat range.

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Wikipedia