Mikoyan MiG-29

what is it?

The Mikoyan MiG-29 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Sukhoi Su-27, was developed to counter U.S. fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The MiG-29 entered service with the Soviet Air Forces in 1983.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 11.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 2,450 km/htop speed
• range 1,430 kmwithout refuelling
• size 18 tmax take-off weight
• built 1,600made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 49 years ago, in 1977.
• 🏎️Top speed is 18.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 2.0 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 1,430 km: 8× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 2.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1977-10-06

introduced

1983

status

still flying

number built

1,600

role

air superiority fighter, multirole fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Russia, Dux Factory, Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, Soviet Union, Sokol

engines

2× Klimov RD-33

crew

1

length

17.3 m

wingspan

11.4 m

height

4.7 m

max take-off weight

18 t

top speed

2,450 km/h

range

1,430 km

ceiling

18,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family