Russia keen to sell MiG-35 fighter to air force: Official
ZHUKOVSKY(RUSSIA): Russia is keen on selling its new fighter jet MiG-35 to India with the MiG corporation’s chief saying the country has evinced interest in the aircraft and talks were on to understand its requirements.
Chief executive officer of the MiG Aircraft Corporation Ilya Tarasenko said after presenting MiG-35 in January, the MiG corporation began to actively promote the aircraft in India and in other parts of the world.
“We are proposing supply of the aircraft for tenders in India and we actively work with its air force in order to win the tender,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the MAKS 2017 air show here.
The MiG-35 is Russia’s most advanced 4++ generation multipurpose fighter jet developed on the basis of the serial-produced MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/ M2 combat aircraft.
Asked if India has expressed any interest, Tarasenko said, “Of course they have.”
MiG aircraft have been used by India for almost 50 years and MiG corporation proposes its new products to India among the first countries and intends to continue supplying India with its most modern aircraft, he said.
Asked about the current status of the proposal, the CEO said, “We are in the negotiation stage where talks on technical and technological specifications that MiG can present to India and the requirements that India has for this aircraft were taking place. Since this is a very new plane, it will still take some time to negotiate on exactly what India needs and adjust the product to it.”
About the cost, Tarasenko said it was economical due to the after-sales services on offer.
“We propose not just the aircraft, but also training for its use, as well as after-sales servicing where we take upon the responsibility to service it for 40 years,” he added.