Article Posted on : - Feb 13, 2009

MiG 29 Fulcrum-D Naval fighters. RAC image

BANGALORE (BNS): Russia has delivered the first four MiG-29 Fulcrum-D naval fighters to India and will deliver the remaining 12 aircraft by year end, Mikhail Pogosyan, Chief of Russia's MiG aircraft maker said here on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Aero India air show, Pogosyan said that the first four aircraft had been inspected by Indian technical experts and Indian pilots were undergoing a five-month flight training course. “The remaining fighters would be delivered to India by the end of 2009, as stipulated by the contract,” Pogosyan said.

In January 2004, Russia and India signed a contract stipulating the supply of 12 single-seat MiG-29K and four two-seat MiG-29KUB, to New Delhi, as part of a $750 million deal to deliver the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian Navy.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti said that the aircraft will be later deployed on board the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, which is due to enter service in the Indian Navy in 2012 as INS Vikramaditya.