A bunch of people are asking about the music. The majority of the music is licensed from Epidemic Sound www.epidemicsound.com and sometimes we will create our own incidental music (like a few cues in this video). There are three of us who do production, all musicians, and one of us has scored music for film, so we might create our own incidental music now and then when we have time - but these are not often complete 'pieces', just short cues for a particular spot in the video.
@@raafdocumentaries I lived in U.S.S.R and Russia 33 years (1976-2009) my father worked Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and was diplomat in Moscow for MiG 23 ..
They say it was price that killed it. Mig-29's bill of ownership was was about 80% of Su-27. It was too expensive to exist next to Su-27. There was single engine version in development, called Izdeliye 33 which would be less capable, but much more balanced. A true successors to Mig-21.
MiG-27 doar că nu știu cît costă întreținerea aripilor. Noi mai avem cîteva MiG-29 dar nu sunt zburate, MiG-27 ar permite macar cîtiva piloți să fie antrenați și să poată patrula. ☹️
it was doctrine. soviet union only wanted 2 engine fighters. indeed if single engine fighter would be made and share the same engine as flanker that could gain big export numbers.
Super information as always. I recall seeing a Russian general commenting on the Mig 29 - "the Mig 29 programme cost was 30% less than the Su 27 but with half the performance". The engines had a habit of exploding unexpectedly. They are super smoky - a dead giveaway on location. Also you are going to be strapping on a fuel tank to go anywhere. The Mig 29 was meant to protect the airfields and bases. Hence it's short range. I recall seeing it at farnborough when they were there the 1st time in the early 1990s. It was quite the exciting guest.
I was at that farnborough air show (1991 I think?) as well, standing next to some American fighter pilots. Even they were impressed by its fly by performance! It wasn’t nearly as smoky as the Backfire bomber that was also at the show however…
@@carlbillingham2670 New 29s don't smoke nearly as much. Smoke is caused by the wear of the fuel injectors, which would cause fuel mixture to be slightly richer than it needs to be and result in the burn of the excess fuel. It doesn't affect thrust and only happens on military power Su-27 also smokes, but only during rapid throttle changes, due to specifics of the fuel system, where it will dump some of the fuel to avoid pressure spikes
Interesting that all Russian hardware is defensive or only meant to patrol in very limited range near Russia... Yet we're constantly told Russia is aggressive. Meanwhile the US has global power projection, invades everyone everywhere, topples governments, uses CIA to fund protests and coups and the Us, we're always told, is peaceful.
I remember that the British Harrier test pilot John Farley asked the Russian reps at its first visit to England about its handling characteristics and it turned out that a few of them recognised him and offered him a flight! He loved it. Especially at low speeds
@@engrfka probably because potential buyers wanted the SU 27 - 35 series. It certainly didn’t flop because it was a bad aircraft. It flopped simply because it was not able to pay for itself. There are many US and French fighters for instance that suffered the same fate.
yeah, they ran out of money. A lot of the money for development of the SU-30 and other Su-27 variants came from India and other export customers. But the Mig wasn't supported by the export market as much.
There's a fabtastic interview here on RUclips with an American pilot who got to log many hours in the Mig while doing a pilot exchange in India. He said much of the same. Very touchy. Very dangerous. Very rough in fit, finish, and avionics. He said its covered in roug looking rivets and was intimidating to get in such an unrefined beast. Sketchy. He did say it was very capable once he got used to it.
1:39 Small quibble, but the F-16 didn't replace the F-5 in US service-- the US didn't use the F-5 in any front line roles. It replaced the F-4s, F-105s and F-106s just as the F-15 variants had, only in more significant numbers to generate the mass the F-15 wasn't able to because of it's cost and complexity before, ironically, morphing into an equally complex platform in the 90s.
I think had the MiG-29 been more like the MiG-35, that plane would have sold in very large numbers. It's actually a quite maneuverable plane, and with the MiG-35's modern avionics, a very potent interceptor.
@@Sacto1654 Sukhoi political dominance post-Soviet Union ensured most funding for development and upgrades went towards them. MiG-35 rough equivalent could've come into existence as early as the mid-to-late 90s otherwise.
One important advantage the MiG-29 had early on was its IRST system. As a short range defensive dogfighter this would be pretty useful, especially when being guided to the fight by ground based radar.
Thank you again for an unbiased and insightful video. I acknowledge the flaws of this machine, however I have a soft spot for it. Its downsides could've been mitigated earlier, if MiG bureau and the country's economy were in better shape. I love the rough appearance of earlier versions of MiG-29 and I love the polish of MiG-35, which has a little F-15 vibe to it imo.
Wonderful footage and super 80s sound track. Agree it has unrealized potential. Great base design but bad timing. The R77 capability on the C/S varients is a big jump in capability, something early Flankers lacked.
Excellent video, narration, language, visuals, music.. the only thing that I could comment on would be the difference in music volume at certain transition points which took one by surprise eg.2:32, 4:30 Otherwise superb
5:50 Chiming in to point out that the F-16 wasn't originally wired to use semi active radar missiles, which would had been a pretty big disadvantage before reaching the merge.
Western radar and engine technologies have advanced much further than Russian ones. The West also has access to much better onboard computers. The Mig-35 today is probably as good as Western 4th Gen+ planes were 15-20 years ago (e.g. F/A-18C with AMRAAMS?). Still, a very handy plane to have if the West won't sell you its best. If Russia had equivalent technologies and industrial capacity, I'd speculate it would be like the modern Rafale, which is very good.
Mig's major design flaw is a fuel load. And that's something that can't be easily fixed. So, for short range missions, it could've been a true f16 (modern blocks) rival, but it can't compete with heavier, longer-ranged designs like the su27-35, rafale, eurofighter and so on
And now Russia has reduced the number of MiG-35 ordered to just 6! No foreign orders have ever materialized either. It looks like the end of the road for the MiG-29.
Great and objective documentation, one addition tough, the R-73 scared the Nato once Germans found out how capable it was in combination with the helmet cuing system on the Mig-29.
You forgot to add that from the very beginning the MiG-29 had a significant advantage over the F-16A in terms of avionics and armament - it had an OLS infrared target detection system and R-27 medium-range missiles in two R and T versions.
I first saw one on a runway in Peru. Holy shit what a beautiful aircraft ..... I couldn't stop staring at them - those things looked like they were moving standing still
i dont think much would change. for export it would need to be single engine aircraft. maybe even share engine with flanker for common parts. that would make it way cheaper and attractive for export. giving more money for development too
Unlikely. The Mig-29 Fulcrum is roughly equal to the F-18 Hornet, while the Su-27 Flanker is about the size and capability of an F-15 Eagle. For the price and capability --because the Sukhois can carry a LOT including nuclear bombs-- it's more cost-effective to just buy Sukhois.
I doubt much changes because the reson the mig-29 preformed so poorly in iraq and serbia wasent one of airframe the mig-29 gave the f-15 like 3 near losses during the gulf war it was factors like awacs more airframes in the sky better ew and better command and control that leqd to the f-15/f-16 being better in iraq and serbia i really isnt about the plane if you fliped the sides the iraqis having the f-15 and the us having the mig-29 the results whould be the same many mig-29 f-1 etc were shot down before they even saw there killers due to awacs spotting the long in advance and the radars being jammed
F-16 & MiG-29 are like the F-86 & MiG-15 of the modern era. Tho MiG-29 I think is the superior of the two, the only issue is that it nvr got the love of future upgrades the same way the F-16 did.
Like the Viper though the Fulcrum is a stunning Aircraft in it's time and when it first appeared it created a shock as to what The Soviets had produced and the leaps they'd made.
AMAZING documentary ; I want netflix to adapt an ANIME on this with the protagonist being the son of the pilot for Mig 29 is secretly allowed to fly with his father and gets trained on the most RAW heptic feedback manual flying BEAST of a fighter plane.
If a plane is a good climber, fast, maneuverable and large enough for a decent radar, it's good. It's just as simple as that. One can't blame MiG designers for the fall of the Soviet Union and the lack of overdue upgrades.
The Mig 29 was excellent for it's intended role with frontal aviation. The second factor was that although it could engage beyond visual range it lacked the computer assisted weapon cueing and guidance. The F-16A when compared to a late model F-16 are almost completely different in capability. The F-16 also benefitted from Western computer advantages and also the sheer scale of the numbers in service world wide.
Until F-16 received AMRAAMs it didn't have particularly good BVR capability either. Sparrow was SARH just like R-27. Having said that R27 had IR seeker version too. Both needed to be guided by computer on board of the MiG
You'll hardly find "German pilots who had the opportunity to try both aircraft in training missions". Luftwaffe pilots never had access to the F-16. They were coming from the Starfighter, Phantom or Tornado when the Luftwaffe "inherited" the MiG-29 from the former East German air force after the reunification in 1990. They did, however, use their newly acquired MiG-29s as "adversary aircraft" during joint NATO air exercises.... before they were eventually sold to Poland (for the symbolic sum of 1 euro a piece, if I recall correctly).
With the new Fulcrum M variant it's still a lethal air to air fighter. Also, this airframe can climb to the edge of space if the Russian's figure out someway to incorporate carbon composit glide vehicle's to it that will become a game changer in combat.
Actualy it reached peak with newest version but issue is radar for modern times..but they stopped production cause newest types .if some country Had like 100 of newest versions with radar missile and freshly made,would be decent defence..
Russia realized that it would need as many 4 generation aircraft as possible that would be good enough for what was most important to stop a massive attack at once, and that is why Russia decided to get the most out of the MiG-29 aircraft given the amount of aircraft it needed and therefore began mass production of the MiG-35 SM. At least that's what it was said that in 2025 mass production of the MiG-35 will be launched, I think that's the best Russia can do at the moment.
You give a sustained turn rate for MiG at 5000ft as 16 deg/s. Maybe there's a mistake there? Maybe this turn rate was given for 5000 m, not feet? Because you give turn rate for Viper to be 19 at 10000 ft which is already higher, and at 5000 ft it will be still higher (20.5) such that it's impossible to speak about almost equal fight. From the other hand, if MiG's turn rate was given for 5000 m, i.e. for 15000 ft then Viper's turn rate at this altitude would be 17.1 which, compared with MiG's 16, gives almost equal fight (although Viper is still slightly better). Ah, I didn't take into account Mach number. If we take it then MiG becomes better.
Thank you lord almighty for making someone make this video 😭😭😭.The MIG 29 is such a mistreated fighter. If the lord would have given me the resources I would've given it a new fly by wire system new radar new engine new display setup new advanced avionic new advanced everything I would've given the latest technology and make the true fighter it was destined to become😭😭😭😭
Mig-35 exists and Su-27 and Mig-29 were not rivals but part of the same project. Su-27 was intended to be longer range. After collapse there was not enough money to go by so Mig-35 was largely dropped. That is all.
Another reason to prioritize the Su-27 platform over the MiG-29 might be the fact that the MiG-29 systems may had been considered more "compromised" both by the collapse of the Soviet Union allowing its evaluation by NATO countries and due to the whole Adolf Tolkachev espionage operation. Though IIRC the USA still manage to get ex-Belarus Su-27 in the 90's
mig29 became increasingly redundant in russia due to su-27 receiving better upgrades, just like t64 and most t80 tanks became increasingly redundant for russia since t72b3 and t90m are better
3:01 I was under the impression that the MiG-29 was completely analogue flight controls (pulleys and wheels), and then the Su-27 came along with full FBW controls, no?
MiG-29 had hydro-mechanical FCS. Which caused it to have to be statically neutral to be viable. Flanker was meant to be unstable in pitch, but avionics was overweight which made it mostly neutral apart from some flight conditions. Later Su-27M/Su-35 (one with canards) rectified that problem, was equipped with digital quadruple-redundant FBW and was properly unstable.
According to DDR Pilots, the internal fuel capacity was so abysmal, that you could almost not afford using the full AB in short range combat - the 2 engines sucked the tanks empty in no time, so you better stayed very close to your base.. and with external tanks, well - G forces....
Man, I can't get over how good the MiG-29 and Su-27(+) series look. Beautiful planes. Sad that we're being ushered into the 5th/6th era...no longer will we see attractive combat aircraft.
Mig-29 is a quite strange aircraft. Very good maneuveureability and speed, but lacking both in operative range and maximum loadout weight. It's like a low-budget hotrod, which is "pretty comparable or even better" than f-16, but only on paper.
It was never intended for strong A2G. It was rather rudimentary at that. It carried 6 missiles (2 R27 +4 R73). At the time the engagement range at BVR was so short that it'd be WVR by the time the R27s either hit or missed. It'd have carried its centreline tank to the combat zone or on Take-off. It's contemporary to F-16A Block15 and was every bit as good.
@Max_Da_G f-16 is still good as new, thx to it's tactical flexibility. F-16 is not a bomber or strafer, it's a fighter, but truly multirole one, equally good in strike missions or air superiority combat. Mig-29 is comparable only in defensive fighter role (like "defending it's own airfield"). It's also a decent stunt plane, like other russian fighter jets. But where the fight begin, the stunts end. Mig-29 will loose good part of its agility with outer fuel tank and most of it when bear bombs. It is best carrying the air-to-air missiles only -- and that is why it didn't fit as a modern aircraft. Russian short-range air-to-air missiles are insane, long range -- very good. But almost any other plane can carry them, so mig-29 is just redundant.
A beautiful jet. Some things of note, not only the look down shoot down helmet mounted AA missiles but also the on ground engine duct system that closed off the forward facing engine scoops and vented from above the wing. The Su27 just placed a wheel guard behind the front undercarriage wheel but both systems allow for these birds to take off from less than perfect runways. Unlike the required runway walks that are carried out for US designs. Also, even with the migration to the F16's until the 2022 war, the Polish were preferring to operate their Mig 29's due to operational costs. The Migs were a lot cheaper to maintain and they had extensive knowledge of the airframes. Anyway,, the Ukraine war is showing that air power is being used cautiously near the Front Lines as the prevalence of Manpads, SAMS and drones can make life tricky in the sky. Even the Khazarians in the Middle East keep their precious F35's over neutral territory when lobbing death and destruction down on their neighbors, even using civilian flights to shadow their presence . Not sure if that is the case in Syria now with the SAA collapse but was beforehand. BTW, any news on those F16's operating in Ukraine???
The mig-29 is an inexpensive fighter jet but with lack luster controls and avionics, it was left behind by the f-16. If these are upgraded with modern day avionics, many countries would have air forces
LMAO MiG-29 was NEVER left behind by F-16 in kinematics lol Only by Avionics, and even then MiG-35 addresses that. Also its controls are just fine. Hydromechanical FCS works just fine in the F-15 and noone calls it "lacklusture.
Mig 29's rival is an f16a block 10/15 at the best. Those f16s didn't have hmcs, high-off boresight capable missiles, block 10 didn't have sarh capability at all. Just the mig29 remained in the 80s Era, as the f16s were constantly upgraded over the last 30 years
@@LV_CRAZY yes.... royal Dutch AF F16s, escorted by dozens of other countries F16s, F15s, F18s, awacs's, Jstars etc etc, against poorly maintained migs and poorly trained pilots!
Honestly if this aircraft had been given a full NATO led redesign it could very well be one of the best multirole fighters in the world. Akin to the F-16XL
A bunch of people are asking about the music. The majority of the music is licensed from Epidemic Sound www.epidemicsound.com and sometimes we will create our own incidental music (like a few cues in this video). There are three of us who do production, all musicians, and one of us has scored music for film, so we might create our own incidental music now and then when we have time - but these are not often complete 'pieces', just short cues for a particular spot in the video.
The music is sweet in any case, kudos.
Mikoyan was dead when the MiG-29 was designed. This plane was created by Ukrainian engineers.
I wish you never added any, or at least made it a BACKGROUND music, not the DISTRACTION music.
@@raafdocumentaries I lived in U.S.S.R and Russia 33 years (1976-2009) my father worked Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and was diplomat in Moscow for MiG 23 ..
The 1980s music was a beautiful touch. Thanks! Great video.
@trumanhw indeed! Thanks for the reminder of a Concorde doco (on YT) with Oxygene playing.
@@trumanhw check "paperskies " Ukrainian guy does videos on Soviet airforce, his earlier videos have the same music choice.
He got some Great videos
Sounded like Matrix Revolutions to me, when they enter Sion and we see it for the first time.
I came down here to write the same.
They say it was price that killed it. Mig-29's bill of ownership was was about 80% of Su-27. It was too expensive to exist next to Su-27. There was single engine version in development, called Izdeliye 33 which would be less capable, but much more balanced. A true successors to Mig-21.
Also, the MiG-29 wasn't suited for easy upgrades. While Su-27 was designed from the start to be easy to upgrade.
MiG-27 doar că nu știu cît costă întreținerea aripilor. Noi mai avem cîteva MiG-29 dar nu sunt zburate, MiG-27 ar permite macar cîtiva piloți să fie antrenați și să poată patrula. ☹️
it was doctrine. soviet union only wanted 2 engine fighters. indeed if single engine fighter would be made and share the same engine as flanker that could gain big export numbers.
@@DIREWOLFx75 Check MiG-29M (9-15)
@@jebise1126 That can't be right; USSR produced and flew the Mig-21 and the Mig-23.
Look... say what you will... but.
The Mig-29 airframe is BEAUTIFUL.
Super information as always. I recall seeing a Russian general commenting on the Mig 29 - "the Mig 29 programme cost was 30% less than the Su 27 but with half the performance". The engines had a habit of exploding unexpectedly. They are super smoky - a dead giveaway on location. Also you are going to be strapping on a fuel tank to go anywhere. The Mig 29 was meant to protect the airfields and bases. Hence it's short range. I recall seeing it at farnborough when they were there the 1st time in the early 1990s. It was quite the exciting guest.
@@mrrolandlawrence fun fact, Malaysia MiG-29N aerobatic squadron name is Smokey Bandit
I was at that farnborough air show (1991 I think?) as well, standing next to some American fighter pilots. Even they were impressed by its fly by performance! It wasn’t nearly as smoky as the Backfire bomber that was also at the show however…
@@carlbillingham2670 New 29s don't smoke nearly as much. Smoke is caused by the wear of the fuel injectors, which would cause fuel mixture to be slightly richer than it needs to be and result in the burn of the excess fuel. It doesn't affect thrust and only happens on military power
Su-27 also smokes, but only during rapid throttle changes, due to specifics of the fuel system, where it will dump some of the fuel to avoid pressure spikes
Interesting that all Russian hardware is defensive or only meant to patrol in very limited range near Russia... Yet we're constantly told Russia is aggressive. Meanwhile the US has global power projection, invades everyone everywhere, topples governments, uses CIA to fund protests and coups and the Us, we're always told, is peaceful.
Hey bro, "it's" is a contraction of "it is", and "its" is third person neutral possessive.
I appreciate how the briefing is geared toward an informed viewer.
Yes!. If a term or concept is unfamiliar, you simply look it up, leading to expansion of understanding.
Unrelated question: what is that absolute banger of a song called? I also heard it in the Tigershark video
Let's bump this question up^^
Probably 'Sandstorm.' Darude, always.
I remember that the British Harrier test pilot John Farley asked the Russian reps at its first visit to England about its handling characteristics and it turned out that a few of them recognised him and offered him a flight! He loved it. Especially at low speeds
Mig-29 is a really good aircraft but I think it's full potential of this airframe is the mig-35
MiG-29M
Annnnnnnnnd MiG 35 flopped so bad that even Russia does not have more than a handful
@@engrfka probably because potential buyers wanted the SU 27 - 35 series. It certainly didn’t flop because it was a bad aircraft. It flopped simply because it was not able to pay for itself. There are many US and French fighters for instance that suffered the same fate.
@@engrfka egypt has more
yeah, they ran out of money. A lot of the money for development of the SU-30 and other Su-27 variants came from India and other export customers. But the Mig wasn't supported by the export market as much.
The music set the mood and the video didn't disappoint.
This channel is going to blow up as soon as the RUclips algorithm finds it.
Great topics on your channel and I enjoy it immensely.
Totally agree 👍
Agreed!
Nicely done! Folks like to underestimate the Fulcrum, but it is still a very capable aircraft, and more especially so in the MiG-35 variant.
There's a fabtastic interview here on RUclips with an American pilot who got to log many hours in the Mig while doing a pilot exchange in India. He said much of the same. Very touchy. Very dangerous. Very rough in fit, finish, and avionics. He said its covered in roug looking rivets and was intimidating to get in such an unrefined beast. Sketchy. He did say it was very capable once he got used to it.
This aircraft is like a student in school who has great potential but ignored by everyone
1:39 Small quibble, but the F-16 didn't replace the F-5 in US service-- the US didn't use the F-5 in any front line roles. It replaced the F-4s, F-105s and F-106s just as the F-15 variants had, only in more significant numbers to generate the mass the F-15 wasn't able to because of it's cost and complexity before, ironically, morphing into an equally complex platform in the 90s.
The most beautiful aircraft ever made.
@@kalactose348
Super True
Without a doubt 😊
It just look right.
F15, because it does what it says on the tin. Nothing else goes Mach 3 at sea level.
I thought it was just me but,....😊
I'm sorry to admit that the music was the coolest part of the video. Great stuff
I think had the MiG-29 been more like the MiG-35, that plane would have sold in very large numbers. It's actually a quite maneuverable plane, and with the MiG-35's modern avionics, a very potent interceptor.
@@dindrmindr626 He is trying to say that if they had invested in more upgrade programmes for the mig 29 early on it would have been more successful.
Mig-35 is a advanced variant of Mig-29 that removed its known pitfals.
@@Sacto1654 Sukhoi political dominance post-Soviet Union ensured most funding for development and upgrades went towards them. MiG-35 rough equivalent could've come into existence as early as the mid-to-late 90s otherwise.
Star of Ace Combat series and War Thunder.
45 years of MiG-29 "Fulcrum" in 2022 and 30 years of Ace Combat series in 2025.
MiG 35 is such a good looking plane
One important advantage the MiG-29 had early on was its IRST system. As a short range defensive dogfighter this would be pretty useful, especially when being guided to the fight by ground based radar.
Our MiG-23MF had it but near front landing gear
Excellent, thank you for the overview of the MIG-29, and its subsystems.
Thank you again for an unbiased and insightful video. I acknowledge the flaws of this machine, however I have a soft spot for it. Its downsides could've been mitigated earlier, if MiG bureau and the country's economy were in better shape. I love the rough appearance of earlier versions of MiG-29 and I love the polish of MiG-35, which has a little F-15 vibe to it imo.
This has to be the best military channel ever created period. Loyal viewer from the US here.
This video is incredibly high-quality with in-depth detail. Kudos for this video❤️🤘🏾
the soundtrack, please!!! where can I find it?
Wonderful footage and super 80s sound track. Agree it has unrealized potential. Great base design but bad timing.
The R77 capability on the C/S varients is a big jump in capability, something early Flankers lacked.
Excellent video, narration, language, visuals, music.. the only thing that I could comment on would be the difference in music volume at certain transition points which took one by surprise eg.2:32, 4:30 Otherwise superb
Need a list of tracks used in this video!
Great short doc, love the 80s era soundtrack 👌
Most beautiful aircraft have ever created
does anyone know what synthwave/retrowave music that was used in this video..?
Very cool to have the thumbnail be an East German MiG-29
MiG-29 biggest problem has always been lack of range. Point defense was its only virtue.
In my opinion the must beautiful fighter in the world. We make in Romania a MIG 29 variant call Sniper, but was ded before a real production.
Su-30SM2 is a beautiful aircraft. ❤️
Amazing vid and music 💪
F-4: want a smoke?
MiG-29: Thanks but I got my own
5:50 Chiming in to point out that the F-16 wasn't originally wired to use semi active radar missiles, which would had been a pretty big disadvantage before reaching the merge.
Great video, the last piece of music sounded very much like one from The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack.
The best looking piece of art made by humanity. I adore MiG-29
This deep dive has me thinking: if the MiG-29 reached its full potential, would it have outshined today’s top fighters? Anyone dare to speculate?
Western radar and engine technologies have advanced much further than Russian ones. The West also has access to much better onboard computers. The Mig-35 today is probably as good as Western 4th Gen+ planes were 15-20 years ago (e.g. F/A-18C with AMRAAMS?). Still, a very handy plane to have if the West won't sell you its best.
If Russia had equivalent technologies and industrial capacity, I'd speculate it would be like the modern Rafale, which is very good.
Mig's major design flaw is a fuel load. And that's something that can't be easily fixed. So, for short range missions, it could've been a true f16 (modern blocks) rival, but it can't compete with heavier, longer-ranged designs like the su27-35, rafale, eurofighter and so on
The music is top notch can some give me the links pls :) !!
The true enthusiasts' channel. Thanks for unbiased consideration and Privet from Russia
That was a great video.
very good video with the music and all thanks
And now Russia has reduced the number of MiG-35 ordered to just 6! No foreign orders have ever materialized either. It looks like the end of the road for the MiG-29.
Great and objective documentation, one addition tough, the R-73 scared the Nato once Germans found out how capable it was in combination with the helmet cuing system on the Mig-29.
You forgot to add that from the very beginning the MiG-29 had a significant advantage over the F-16A in terms of avionics and armament - it had an OLS infrared target detection system and R-27 medium-range missiles in two R and T versions.
I first saw one on a runway in Peru. Holy shit what a beautiful aircraft ..... I couldn't stop staring at them - those things looked like they were moving standing still
Thanks for review! Great plane! Beautyfull plane!
excellent video. Thank you
I've seen the Mig 35 in maks airshow, impressive aircraft!
Mig 29 really shows that it's the pilot skills and not the aircraft
If only the MiG-29M was put into production/service before the fall of Soviet Union, then perhaps it would not be such a failure on export market 😕
i dont think much would change. for export it would need to be single engine aircraft. maybe even share engine with flanker for common parts. that would make it way cheaper and attractive for export. giving more money for development too
Unlikely. The Mig-29 Fulcrum is roughly equal to the F-18 Hornet, while the Su-27 Flanker is about the size and capability of an F-15 Eagle.
For the price and capability --because the Sukhois can carry a LOT including nuclear bombs-- it's more cost-effective to just buy Sukhois.
I doubt much changes because the reson the mig-29 preformed so poorly in iraq and serbia wasent one of airframe the mig-29 gave the f-15 like 3 near losses during the gulf war it was factors like awacs more airframes in the sky better ew and better command and control that leqd to the f-15/f-16 being better in iraq and serbia i really isnt about the plane if you fliped the sides the iraqis having the f-15 and the us having the mig-29 the results whould be the same many mig-29 f-1 etc were shot down before they even saw there killers due to awacs spotting the long in advance and the radars being jammed
God damned gorgeous plane too, only edged out by its Sukhoi cousion
The MiG 29 did its job. Yea the avionics could’ve been better but it shocked the world when it made its debut.
In early years F16 wouldnt fair good. No BVR missiles on 16A and 29 had helmet sight. In the end thats what German 29s showed in training fights.
F-16 & MiG-29 are like the F-86 & MiG-15 of the modern era. Tho MiG-29 I think is the superior of the two, the only issue is that it nvr got the love of future upgrades the same way the F-16 did.
Hell yeah, BIG JET!!!
Like the Viper though the Fulcrum is a stunning Aircraft in it's time and when it first appeared it created a shock as to what The Soviets had produced and the leaps they'd made.
Excellent channel.
AMAZING documentary ; I want netflix to adapt an ANIME on this with the protagonist being the son of the pilot for Mig 29 is secretly allowed to fly with his father and gets trained on the most RAW heptic feedback manual flying BEAST of a fighter plane.
If a plane is a good climber, fast, maneuverable and large enough for a decent radar, it's good. It's just as simple as that. One can't blame MiG designers for the fall of the Soviet Union and the lack of overdue upgrades.
Dam, the music bangs
all warplanes are so cool and different to each other. It's really peak modern humanity.
Its so powerful I like it
Such a cool plane, just like su-27. Imagine them with western electronics.
The Mig 29 was excellent for it's intended role with frontal aviation. The second factor was that although it could engage beyond visual range it lacked the computer assisted weapon cueing and guidance. The F-16A when compared to a late model F-16 are almost completely different in capability. The F-16 also benefitted from Western computer advantages and also the sheer scale of the numbers in service world wide.
Until F-16 received AMRAAMs it didn't have particularly good BVR capability either. Sparrow was SARH just like R-27. Having said that R27 had IR seeker version too. Both needed to be guided by computer on board of the MiG
@@Max_Da_G F-16A/early F-16C actually never carried Sparrows operationally, so it wasn't even capable of BVR
You'll hardly find "German pilots who had the opportunity to try both aircraft in training missions". Luftwaffe pilots never had access to the F-16. They were coming from the Starfighter, Phantom or Tornado when the Luftwaffe "inherited" the MiG-29 from the former East German air force after the reunification in 1990. They did, however, use their newly acquired MiG-29s as "adversary aircraft" during joint NATO air exercises.... before they were eventually sold to Poland (for the symbolic sum of 1 euro a piece, if I recall correctly).
With the new Fulcrum M variant it's still a lethal air to air fighter. Also, this airframe can climb to the edge of space if the Russian's figure out someway to incorporate carbon composit glide vehicle's to it that will become a game changer in combat.
Actualy it reached peak with newest version but issue is radar for modern times..but they stopped production cause newest types .if some country Had like 100 of newest versions with radar missile and freshly made,would be decent defence..
Russia realized that it would need as many 4 generation aircraft as possible that would be good enough for what was most important to stop a massive attack at once, and that is why Russia decided to get the most out of the MiG-29 aircraft given the amount of aircraft it needed and therefore began mass production of the MiG-35 SM. At least that's what it was said that in 2025 mass production of the MiG-35 will be launched, I think that's the best Russia can do at the moment.
You give a sustained turn rate for MiG at 5000ft as 16 deg/s. Maybe there's a mistake there? Maybe this turn rate was given for 5000 m, not feet? Because you give turn rate for Viper to be 19 at 10000 ft which is already higher, and at 5000 ft it will be still higher (20.5) such that it's impossible to speak about almost equal fight. From the other hand, if MiG's turn rate was given for 5000 m, i.e. for 15000 ft then Viper's turn rate at this altitude would be 17.1 which, compared with MiG's 16, gives almost equal fight (although Viper is still slightly better).
Ah, I didn't take into account Mach number. If we take it then MiG becomes better.
i always loved migs. they are such athletes...
0:41...Last pilot in formation flew into his buddy's jetwash!
MiG,,, Ready to rule the skies!!!!
Next MIG 41 👍
Thank you lord almighty for making someone make this video 😭😭😭.The MIG 29 is such a mistreated fighter. If the lord would have given me the resources I would've given it a new fly by wire system new radar new engine new display setup new advanced avionic new advanced everything I would've given the latest technology and make the true fighter it was destined to become😭😭😭😭
*Dude... such a fighter exists, it's called MiG-29OVT*
ruclips.net/video/BdVJPZAKAQE/видео.html
Mig-35 exists and Su-27 and Mig-29 were not rivals but part of the same project. Su-27 was intended to be longer range. After collapse there was not enough money to go by so Mig-35 was largely dropped. That is all.
Another reason to prioritize the Su-27 platform over the MiG-29 might be the fact that the MiG-29 systems may had been considered more "compromised" both by the collapse of the Soviet Union allowing its evaluation by NATO countries and due to the whole Adolf Tolkachev espionage operation. Though IIRC the USA still manage to get ex-Belarus Su-27 in the 90's
It has the potential if you equip it with modern tech
Love the synthwave music!
mig29 became increasingly redundant in russia due to su-27 receiving better upgrades, just like t64 and most t80 tanks became increasingly redundant for russia since t72b3 and t90m are better
3:01 I was under the impression that the MiG-29 was completely analogue flight controls (pulleys and wheels), and then the Su-27 came along with full FBW controls, no?
MiG-29 had hydro-mechanical FCS. Which caused it to have to be statically neutral to be viable. Flanker was meant to be unstable in pitch, but avionics was overweight which made it mostly neutral apart from some flight conditions. Later Su-27M/Su-35 (one with canards) rectified that problem, was equipped with digital quadruple-redundant FBW and was properly unstable.
According to DDR Pilots, the internal fuel capacity was so abysmal, that you could almost not afford using the full AB in short range combat - the 2 engines sucked the tanks empty in no time, so you better stayed very close to your base.. and with external tanks, well - G forces....
Man, I can't get over how good the MiG-29 and Su-27(+) series look. Beautiful planes. Sad that we're being ushered into the 5th/6th era...no longer will we see attractive combat aircraft.
I think the MiG-29 failed when it came out as a twin engine fighter. I’d love to hear more about this decision because it seemingly doomed the figbrer
A beautiful and very capable aircraft
Mig-29 is a quite strange aircraft. Very good maneuveureability and speed, but lacking both in operative range and maximum loadout weight. It's like a low-budget hotrod, which is "pretty comparable or even better" than f-16, but only on paper.
It was never intended for strong A2G. It was rather rudimentary at that. It carried 6 missiles (2 R27 +4 R73). At the time the engagement range at BVR was so short that it'd be WVR by the time the R27s either hit or missed. It'd have carried its centreline tank to the combat zone or on Take-off. It's contemporary to F-16A Block15 and was every bit as good.
@Max_Da_G f-16 is still good as new, thx to it's tactical flexibility. F-16 is not a bomber or strafer, it's a fighter, but truly multirole one, equally good in strike missions or air superiority combat. Mig-29 is comparable only in defensive fighter role (like "defending it's own airfield"). It's also a decent stunt plane, like other russian fighter jets. But where the fight begin, the stunts end. Mig-29 will loose good part of its agility with outer fuel tank and most of it when bear bombs. It is best carrying the air-to-air missiles only -- and that is why it didn't fit as a modern aircraft. Russian short-range air-to-air missiles are insane, long range -- very good. But almost any other plane can carry them, so mig-29 is just redundant.
A beautiful jet. Some things of note, not only the look down shoot down helmet mounted AA missiles but also the on ground engine duct system that closed off the forward facing engine scoops and vented from above the wing. The Su27 just placed a wheel guard behind the front undercarriage wheel but both systems allow for these birds to take off from less than perfect runways. Unlike the required runway walks that are carried out for US designs.
Also, even with the migration to the F16's until the 2022 war, the Polish were preferring to operate their Mig 29's due to operational costs. The Migs were a lot cheaper to maintain and they had extensive knowledge of the airframes.
Anyway,, the Ukraine war is showing that air power is being used cautiously near the Front Lines as the prevalence of Manpads, SAMS and drones can make life tricky in the sky.
Even the Khazarians in the Middle East keep their precious F35's over neutral territory when lobbing death and destruction down on their neighbors, even using civilian flights to shadow their presence . Not sure if that is the case in Syria now with the SAA collapse but was beforehand.
BTW, any news on those F16's operating in Ukraine???
The mig-29 is an inexpensive fighter jet but with lack luster controls and avionics, it was left behind by the f-16. If these are upgraded with modern day avionics, many countries would have air forces
LMAO MiG-29 was NEVER left behind by F-16 in kinematics lol Only by Avionics, and even then MiG-35 addresses that. Also its controls are just fine. Hydromechanical FCS works just fine in the F-15 and noone calls it "lacklusture.
Mig 29's rival is an f16a block 10/15 at the best. Those f16s didn't have hmcs, high-off boresight capable missiles, block 10 didn't have sarh capability at all. Just the mig29 remained in the 80s Era, as the f16s were constantly upgraded over the last 30 years
The MIG-29 did face off with F-16s of the Royal Dutch Air Force over Serbia. The only MIGs to survive dove to the deck and wildly maneuvered away.
@@LV_CRAZY yes.... royal Dutch AF F16s, escorted by dozens of other countries F16s, F15s, F18s, awacs's, Jstars etc etc, against poorly maintained migs and poorly trained pilots!
MiG-23 MLD was better than MiG-29A (9.12) due to +40% combat radius
I feel like you should rebrand your channel so people don't think this is a niche government-operated channel.
More people need to see these videos.
US never managed to build and mass-produce a very fast fighter; even the F22, the masterpiece, is a lot slower than the Mig31...
How good is the new MIG-35?
It doesn't really exist
Honestly if this aircraft had been given a full NATO led redesign it could very well be one of the best multirole fighters in the world. Akin to the F-16XL
Some countries has developed their mig 29 to mig 29m2 such as Algeria and Egypt