Russia’s defense ministry has received its first MiG-35UB two-seat multirole fighter from the August 2018 contract that was signed at ARMY’2018, covering an initial six aircraft. Aircraft side number 11 was spotted in the past month flying from the airfield at RAC MiG’s Lukhovitsy plant in the Moscow region. Upon completion of the manufacturer’s tests, it was ferried to an air force base for participation in state acceptance trials.
The tests began in the fall at the Valery Chkalov State Flight Test Center (GLITs) at Akhtubinsk in southern Russia. When visiting GLITs on May 14, President Putin was shown a MiG-35, among other aircraft. At the time, the center was operating two such aircraft: a MiG-35UB side 712 and MiG-35S single-seater side 702. Completed in late 2016, they had made a public debut at MAKS’2017, billed as “the new MiG-35.” After manufacturer’s tests, they were handed over to the MoD in the middle of 2018. For state acceptance trials to complete as planned in 2020, GLITs requires several more airframes to arrive over the next few months.
More In Aircraft
