MiG pushing for exports of the MiG-35 fighter

June 22 (UPI) -- Russian planemaker MiG says its MiG-35 Fulcrum-F fighters will be finished with flight testing by the end of this or early next year, and that they'll be ready to open up for production and export.

"The government trials go according to the schedule and should be completed at the end of 2017, beginning of 2018," MiG CEO Ilya Tarasenko told Aviation Week's ShowNews.

Under military procurement plans for 2018-2025, Russia is expected to order at least 37 of the aircraft, and possibly as many as 258 to replace its legacy fleet of MiG-29s. Contract finalization would occur after flight trials are over and certified.

The MiG-35 Fulcrum F is a upgraded multi-role derivative of the Mig-29K carrier-based fighter plane used by Russia and India. Considered a mix of 4th and 5th generation fighter technologies, with upgraded radar and a targeting system that includes long-range electro-optical cameras for air and target engagements.

It has a top speed of over Mach 2.2, thrust-vectoring options, and a combat radius of 620 miles. It can mount nearly every fighter-class weapon in the Russian arsenal. Though not a stealth fighter, its fuselage has been shaped and coated with radar-absorbing material which would be supplemented by the plane's electronic warfare radar jammers.

MiG hopes that the MiG-35's capabilities and the Russian government's purchase would spur interest in international customers. "We [are waiting] to sign a serial contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to start working with export customers," Tarasenko said.

The current Mig-20 series and its variants are in use by over 30 countries, providing a market base for an upgraded version of the platform.