The Russian army has begun deploying rare MiG-35 fighter jets to counter long-range Ukrainian Armed Forces drones attacking facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation. Russia’s Aerospace Forces have only 6 such aircraft at their disposal. Defense Express reports this, UNN writes.
Details
According to analysts, the Russians are using MiG-35s to intercept Ukrainian strike drones. As confirmation, the community published a photograph of a Russian pilot in the cockpit of a fighter jet who presumably took part in such operations.
Overall, Russian aviation has 86 MiG-29 fighter jets of various modifications and only 6 MiG-35s. At the same time, the actual number of combat-ready MiG-29s remains unknown.
Why Russia has only 6 MiG-35 fighter jets
All 6 MiG-35 aircraft belong to an experimental batch that Russia manufactured over 5 years—from 2018 to 2023. It comprised 4 single-seat and 2 two-seat fighter jets.
The MiG-35 is a modernized version of the MiG-29. According to its stated specifications, it has a 50% longer flight range and can carry up to 6,500 kg of weapons, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
Russia reported using the MiG-35 in the war against Ukraine as early as 2023. However, serial production of these fighters never reached significant scale, and attempts to sell them to foreign customers did not produce the expected results.