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Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum
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Mig-29 Fulcrum
Mikoyan MiG-29A Fulcrum A
Development of the Fulcrum progressed through the seventies and was first confirmed by Western reconnaissance when prototypes were seen at the Ramenskoye test centre in1 977. These aircraft were provisionally allocated the reporting name of RamL, subsequent US intelligence reports stated that the aircraft entered production in 1982. It is certain that major teething troubles were encountered because the aircraft did not achieve full operational capability until the mid eighties, a full decade after its Western adversaries. The principal user of the Fulcrum is the FA-WS, the Soviet Army’s tactical air arm, with aircraft deployed in Eastern Europe and within the USSR. An export drive seeking hard currency has resulted in expor t sales to India, Yugoslavia, Syria, Cuba, North Korea and several other Third World nations, although it is not clear whether these aircraft retain the full systems capability of the Soviet aircraft.
Airframe and Propulsion
Without access to engineering documentation it is difficult to analyse the Fulcrum structurally, it is however known to employ conventional Al alloy construction in most areas. The forward fuselage will almost certainly be a separate shell, split into a radar/avionics bay, crew station and possibly a fuel tank area. The fuselage carapace will be another major assembly, absorbing the structural loads from the wings and mounting the tail booms which carry the vertical tails and horizontal tail surfaces. The fuselage tunnel between the nacelles is narrow and thus not useful for stores carriage, although a drop tank can be fitted with a major drag penalty.
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