Navy not to ground MiG-29K fighters
With Russia holding that the crash of a MiG-29K in Astrakhan, was not due to any technical defect, India does not plan to ground its fleet of these naval fighters.
By TNN | Updated:
NEW DELHI: With Russia holding that the crash of a MiG-29K in Astrakhan region on June 23, which killed two pilots, was not due to any technical defect, India does not plan to ground its fleet of these naval fighters.
"We have got feedback from Russia ( MiG Corporation) that the crash was due to 'pilot error'," said Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma.
The Russian pilots were apparently taking the MiG-29K, which was a twin-seater trainer version of the fighter, through some high-speed intricate combat manoeuvres at a height much lower than what was needed and could not pull out of a dive in time.
The Navy has already inducted 11 of the 45 MiG-29K fighters ordered from Russia for over $2 billion, with pilots beginning training on them at Goa ahead of the delivery of the 44,570-tonne INS Vikramaditya or the refitted Admiral Gorshkov in early-2013.
The MiG-29s, which the IAF has operated for well over two decades, have had a slightly patchy track record. Russia, for instance, was forced to ground a major chunk of its MiG-29 fleet due to structural defects, which included disintegration of their tail fins.
IAF inducted over 70 twin-engined MiG-29s from 1986 onwards but has lost several of them in crashes, though these fighters are not as accident-prone as the single-engined MiG-21s or MiG-23s. Incidentally, 63 MiG-29s of IAF are to be progressively upgraded under a $964 million contract signed with Russia in March 2008.
"We have got feedback from Russia ( MiG Corporation) that the crash was due to 'pilot error'," said Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma.
The Russian pilots were apparently taking the MiG-29K, which was a twin-seater trainer version of the fighter, through some high-speed intricate combat manoeuvres at a height much lower than what was needed and could not pull out of a dive in time.
The Navy has already inducted 11 of the 45 MiG-29K fighters ordered from Russia for over $2 billion, with pilots beginning training on them at Goa ahead of the delivery of the 44,570-tonne INS Vikramaditya or the refitted Admiral Gorshkov in early-2013.
The MiG-29s, which the IAF has operated for well over two decades, have had a slightly patchy track record. Russia, for instance, was forced to ground a major chunk of its MiG-29 fleet due to structural defects, which included disintegration of their tail fins.
IAF inducted over 70 twin-engined MiG-29s from 1986 onwards but has lost several of them in crashes, though these fighters are not as accident-prone as the single-engined MiG-21s or MiG-23s. Incidentally, 63 MiG-29s of IAF are to be progressively upgraded under a $964 million contract signed with Russia in March 2008.
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