Russia’s MiG-35 Fighter Nightmare Summed Up in 4 Words

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Only 6 Fighters Built: The MiG-35, initially hailed as Russia’s answer to the F-35, has proven to be a disappointment.

-Despite its advanced radar, avionics, and weaponry, the fighter has seen limited production and combat use, failing to impact the Ukraine war or secure significant international sales. Budget constraints, lack of spare parts, and competition from more reliable jets like the Su-30 and Su-35 have further hindered its success.

-With a short operational range and limited demand, the MiG-35 remains a cautionary tale of overambition and poor execution in Russia’s defense industry. It risks fading into history as an unrealized potential.

Russia’s MiG-35 Has Been an Embarrassing Bust

Russia once had high hopes for the MiG-35. It was supposed to be the answer to the F-35 Lightning II. It has improved avionics and a slew of other features that should have made it a hit on the export market. The MiG-35 could dominate Ukraine and Russia’s skies, but it has failed to make a difference in the war, export demand faded, and the Russians built only a handful.

Don’t Believe the Hype 

The MiG-35 program was probably just an attempt to spread propaganda and a half-hearted public relations ploy to show the nation and the world that the Russians could make an effective 4th generation-plus fighter. It was even touted in marketing materials to be a 4th generation plus-plus warbird.

What’s the Problem? 

The airplane simply hasn’t been deployed that much, and it remains a mystery why it was a no-show during the war. The MiG-35 should have seen a sterling combat record by now, with the ability to avoid Ukrainian air defenses and win dogfights against worse-performing Ukrainian fighters.

Which Airplane Is Going to Succeed?

The Russians are throwing every available fighter into the figh,t hoping for a champion to emerge. But the air force has yet to find a winning combination to create some semblance of air superiority. The best they can do is for fighters to stay out of range of enemy surface-to-air missiles and fire glide bombs at Ukrainian cities and troops.

The MiG-35 also doesn’t have the spare parts or logistical support like the Su-30 and Su-35. This has kept the MiG on the ground. 

The MiG-35 has been a bust on the foreign market as well with few takers. International partners prefer the Su-57, which had a rousing demo flight at the Zhuhai air show in China in November that wowed the crowd. The Su-35 has also enjoyed higher demand than the MiG-35.

The MiG-35 was introduced in 2007 and first flew in 2016, so it is a modern fighter. Countries have just passed on the MiG-35. Egypt and India chose to go another route after considering a purchase. 

Egypt decided to go with the MiG-29M, which was believed to have better acceleration and thrust and was considered superior to the MiG-35. Argentina and Malaysia kicked the tires on the MiG-35 but have not given the green light for an order.

MiG-35 Fighter: Money and Resources Are Not There to Sustain It

The MiG-35 has also been the victim of a budget crunch. The Air Force is choosing to fly tried and actual fighters and has poured money and resources into airplanes that have already proven their worth. 

The MiG-35, since it hasn’t been sold internationally, is a program that is struggling to pay the bills, and as a result it has not been produced in great numbers.

The Specs Are Decent

The MiG-35 has advanced radar and much-improved avionics to place it up in performance against the F-16 and even the F-35. 

The MiG-35 has a wingspan of 39 feet and is 57 feet long. There are “two Klimov RD-33MK after-burning turbofan engines, each generating 19,800 pounds of thrust with an afterburner, promising high-speed performance and agility,” according to BulgarianMilitary.com.

It also has an active electrically scanned array radar (AESA). This can track up to 30 targets at once. There is a fly-by-wire system for better maneuverability, and pilots love its cockpit. 

The MiG-35 can carry or launch all the modern weapons you would expect from the 4th generation plus fighter, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, in addition to precision-guided bombs and rockets. It has an electro-optical targeting system to help it win aerial battles against enemy airplanes.

The airplane’s range is not great. While fully loaded with fuel and ordnance, it can only manage 620 miles without extra fuel tanks.

There may have been only six MiG-35s built, which were probably not flying during the war in Ukraine. 

They were likely produced to show foreign buyers that the airplane was advanced enough to become a technology demonstrator and that it could be transferred to serial production with additional orders. The Russian air force once looked to buy 37 MiG-35s. 

This MiG should be considered a cautionary tale for the Russians about what not to do during a major acquisition program’s development. 

If you depend on the foreign market to fund a fighter program, you had better find customers. Otherwise, it must be bankrolled by the government, and Moscow has more significant problems on the ground, where it loses about 1,000 or more soldiers a day, either killed or wounded.

For Russia’s defense industrial base to be a world leader, it cannot have failures like the MiG-35. It is now either fly, sell, or be forgotten. The MiG-35 may remain in the dustbin of history as a fighter that looked good on paper but did not pass the demand test.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.