Not that badly trained as one would suppose. One of the kills was by an african woman pilot flying the Su-27 was ironically against her own Russian instructor on the MiG-29 on the other side of the fence.
Why didn't China buy the MiG-29?
- Thread starter chicket9
- Start date
Not that badly trained as one would suppose. One of the kills was by an african woman pilot flying the Su-27 was ironically against her own Russian instructor on the MiG-29 on the other side of the fence.
Anyway, history is meaningful. But can we talk about the future? Do you think PLA may buy some mig-29smt or mig-29k?
Why ... with the J-10 under production it's not necessary !
Quite unlikely though. Deino already mentioned the obvious answer.
MiG-29 strikes me as an anomaly. For a "small" jet, its quite complex and don't seem to offer the same maintenance and usability perks small jets have over bigger jets, in this case, the Su-27. Neither does it actually cost significantly less---a MiG-29K probably costs as much as an Su-30MK2. And for even less capability, not to mention the Su-27 actually outmaneuvering it, and with engines that are far smokier than the Su-27's. Heck the radar is only as big as the J-10's, no surprise, since the radar quoted on the -29M2 upgrade is the same one offered for the J-10.
Chengdu J-10
Junior Member
The Su-27 is far more superior than the Mig-29, and since the PLAAF have already got a license production for the Su-27 under the name J-11 they have pratically mastered producing the J-11 and is further domesticating it with own components under the designation J-11B. Since the PLAAF can produce their own Su-27 which is superior than the Mig-29 why should they go an purchase a aircraft which is less superior to the ones they already have? The J-11 and J-10 will be the bulk of the PLAAF inventory for quite sometime. J-11 will go for further upgrades.
Well, I think it is due to Mig-29's performance in the Gulf War. As we all know what happened to the Migs. Also remember that Chinese Mig-15, which claimed by the Russians was the best fighters at the time, performed poorly in the Korean conflict. So the Chinese have bad feelings for the Mig series.
Just like if you drive a certain car and it performed badly, then you may not consider the same type of car for a long time.
Just like if you drive a certain car and it performed badly, then you may not consider the same type of car for a long time.
Pointblank
Senior Member
Why bother why they have the J-10?
Another issue with the MiG-29 series is the engines. The Klimov RD-33 series does not have as good thrust to weight ratio in comparison to Western engines, and the engine is at least a generation behind in technology. The engine has a short life before a major overhaul is required (500 hours), in comparison to say, the General Electric F404, which has a service life of 1,000 flight hours before a trip to the shop and averages 6,500 hours between in-flight events. The RD-33 also is less fuel efficient compared to the thrust provided, which works against the MiG-29's low fuel capacity, which leaves a short range for the MiG-29.
coolieno99
Junior Member
The reason why the Mig-15 performed poorly during the Korean War has nothing to do with the mechanical performance of the plane itself(actually the Mig-15 was the superior plane). Nor due to better trained U.S. pilots. The key difference was that the U.S. F-86 fighter was equipped with an automated targetting fire-control radar, and the Russian Mig-15 fighter did not. The fire-control radar enable the pilot to place the shots ahead of a evading/turning Mig-15 with accuracy. The Mig-15 used a crude optical sight and the pilot has to manually adjust it during combat to determine the correct range. It's very clumsy system, and gave poor results.
The F-86 fire control radar was in the downward-curled bulge located on top of the frontal intake.