On the 3rd of August 2011, the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG invited journalists for a visit to their plant in Lukhovitsy near Moscow. The following are some of the pictures taken during the visit.
RAC MiG has been contracted to supply the Indian Navy with 45 MiG-29 variants fighters. Of these, 8 of them would be in the twin-seater trainer configuration [MiG-29KUB], while the remaining 37 would be the conventional single-seater version [MiG-29K]. 11 aircrafts are currently operational with the Indian Navy.
The entire fleet of MiG-29 aircrafts operated by the Indian Air Force [IAF] too has been scheduled to undergo a Mid-Life Upgrade [MLU]. 6 of the aircraft would be upgraded in this plant seen below, while the rest would be carried out by Indian Aerospace company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited [HAL]. One significant development to be featured in the upgraded aircraft is the transition from performing Hard Time-based Maintenance of the aircraft to On-Condition Maintenance, thereby optimizing usage of systems & bringing about cost advantage to IAF's operations. Once upgraded, these Indian Air Force fighters would then be designated with the suffix UPG - MiG-29UPG [single-seater variant], MiG-29UB UPG [twin-seater variant] - the twin seater's designation, though, is often written as MiG-29UPG UB also - will update upon finding the correct one.
The following pictures show the Indian Navy's & Indian Air Force's contracts being executed at the MiG plant.
Click on the images to view a larger-sized image
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via www.aex.ru || ru-aviation.livejournal.com || bmpd.livejournal.com
Update: A recent news report seem to indicate that most of the aircraft photographed above are in fact those being assembled for the Myanmarese Air Force, with a few Indian Air Force upgrades. Considering the state of assembly they are in, one can not discern with certainty. Also, this blog which belongs to the photographer who had visited the plant clearly mentions MiG-29K aircraft being assembled for the Indian Navy on more than one occasion.
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Earlier: Indian Navy & Air Force's MiG-29 aircrafts [hi-res photographs]
Indian Navy MiG-29K aircraft wallpapers
Watch: Intake Compression In Air-breathing Compressorless Propulsion System by Dr. Alexander Chevagin, Head-Propulsion Systems Aerodynamics Department, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Russia.
Godspeed