MiG-29SMT
Frontline fighter (air-to-air / light multirole)
Agile frontline fighter, produced in large numbers — the 'TIE fighter of the Soviet Union'. Short combat radius and heavily dependent on GCI. Highly manoeuvrable in WVR combat; modernised SMT/UPG variants add multirole capability and more fuel.
Learn more in the AirDefense Academy →Dimensionsfor imagery analysis
- Length × wingspan × height
- 17.32 × 11.36 × 4.73 m
- Max. take-off weight
- 18,000 kg
- Empty weight
- 11,000 kg
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia
General
- Role
- Frontline fighter / point interception
- Crew
- 1
- Max speed
- Mach 2.25
- Ceiling
- 59,000 ft
- Combat radius
- ≈ 378 NM (SMT)
- Employment
- GCI-dependent, gap filler
Armament
- Medium
- R-77, R-27
- Short
- R-73 (HMS-cued)
- Air-ground
- Kh-25, KAB-500 (SMT)
- Gun
- GSh-30-1 30 mm
Sensors
- Radar
- Zhuk-ME (SMT) / N019
- EO
- OLS IRST + helmet sight
Threat
- Primary threat
- WVR dogfight with R-73 + helmet sight
- Countermeasure
- Avoid the merge, BVR advantage, EW
- Threat level
- High up close, limited by range
News archive 12
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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«russia Has Started Scrambling Even Its Rare MiG-35 Fighters to Counter Ukraine's Deep Strikes, Despite Having Only Six» (Defense Express)
Defense Express reports that Russia has recently been using its MiG-35 fighters to repel Ukrainian long-range drone attacks on targets inside Russia. The claim comes from the specialist community Soniashnyk, which cited, among other things, a photograph of a Russian pilot in the cockpit of a MiG-35 allegedly involved in intercepting Ukrainian drones. Accord…
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Су-24, два катери, 40 пунктів управління та десятки засобів ППО, РЛС і РЕБ — результати middle strike за вересень (ArmyInform: Su-24, two boats, 40 command posts and dozens of air-defence, radar and EW assets: results of middle strike for September)
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has published a September tally of its 'middle strike' campaign. According to the ministry, Ukraine's Defence Forces hit more than 30 Russian air-defence, radar and electronic-warfare assets, 40 command posts and more than 50 logistics targets during the month. The report does not define the term or name the Ukrainian units or…
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Ukrainian Mirage 2000-5F downs Russian S8000 Banderol cruise missile with its cannon for the first time
Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi reported on 2 October that a Ukrainian Air Force Mirage 2000-5F has for the first time shot down a Russian S8000 Banderol small cruise missile with its cannon. The report does not give the date or location of the interception; the claim comes from the Ukrainian side and has not been independently verified. France transferred Mira…
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MiG-29 pilot shoots down Russian jet-powered "Geran-4" over the Odesa coast with the aircraft's onboard cannon
Ukrainian outlet Censor.net published video on 27 September 2026 that it says shows a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 intercepting a Russian "Geran-4" off the coast of Odesa. In the footage the pilot chases the drone and then fires the fighter's onboard cannon (the MiG-29 carries a 30 mm GSh-30-1). According to the report, the Geran-4 was hit and exploded in mid…
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«SMITH» сів на хвіст «Герані-5»: кадри нічного перехоплення реактивного дрона
A pilot of Ukraine's 114th Tactical Aviation Brigade, callsign "SMITH", shot down a Russian jet-powered Geran-5 strike drone during a massed attack on western Ukraine on the night of 24 September, according to ArmyInform. The brigade itself released the combat footage. It shows an air-to-air missile being launched, followed by the drone exploding in the air…
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Rybar: 'Geran' drone campaign against Kyiv (20 Aug–10 Sep)
Rybar (a pro-Russian Telegram milblogger channel, not an official MoD source) claims that the 50th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade 'Varyag' ran a systematic campaign against Kyiv and its surroundings between 20 August and 10 September 2026, using reactive/jet-powered Geran-4 'Siker' and Geran-5 drones flown along what the channel calls 'corridors 4 and 5'.
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Rybar: 'Hunter of litaky' — Geran drones used to ambush Ukrainian aircraft on the ground
The Russian milblogger Rybar argues that Geran drones (Shahed-type), specifically the "Geran-4 Seeker" variant, are no longer used only against logistics warehouses and ammunition and weapons storage, but increasingly to hunt Ukrainian aircraft. Rybar claims two airframes were hit in five days. On 4 September, on the eve of a US delegation's arrival in Mosc…
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Russia unveils 'Dan-T' loitering munition as export counterpart to the 'Banderol' (S8000) missile-drone
At the El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt (8-10 September 2026), Russia's state corporation Rostec publicly displayed for the first time a full-scale mockup of the "Dan-T" (Дань-Т) loitering munition. Rostec says the weapon draws on design work in both cruise missiles and unmanned aviation, has completed all development stages, and has been tested on…
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Ukraine's General Staff claims deep strikes on a MiG-29 in Rostov Oblast plus a 'Kasta' radar and EW systems in Crimea and Donbas
In two consecutive daily strike reports (covering 24–25 and 25–26 August 2026), Ukraine's General Staff claims a series of deep strikes against Russian military targets on occupied territory and inside Russia. The headline claim is a hit on a MiG-29 fighter at Millerovo airfield in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which the General Staff says was confirmed on 24 Aug…
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Polish Ministry of National Defense Admits Continued MiG-29 Operation Is Dangerous Amid Stalled Drone-Tech Exchange with Ukraine
SINGLE SOURCE — Defense Express (Ukrainian defense media). Poland's Ministry of National Defense has acknowledged, in a formal response, that maintaining its remaining MiG-29 fighter jets carries risk. Per the statement, "due to the constant development of target operational standards and the lack of a source of spare parts, maintaining this type of aircraf…
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Voyennaya Mysl: S-400 Crews Claim 10 MiG-29 Kills in One Day in 2023 via Over-the-Horizon Shoot-and-Scoot Tactic
SINGLE SOURCE — Russian Ministry of Defense journal Voyennaya Mysl (Military Thought), via Russian state media outlet Life.ru. An article in Voyennaya Mysl, co-authored by Major General Alexander Romanenkov (chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces' air-defense missile troops), addresses SAM unit maneuver tactics during the conflict, drawing on experience from…
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Fighters from Black Forest unit struck MiG-29 and Pantsir-S1 at Khalino airfield in the Kursk region
Censor.NET (EN) reports that fighters from Ukraine's 'Black Forest' unit — identified elsewhere as the 15th Separate Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade 'Black Forest' of the Ukrainian Ground Forces — struck a Russian MiG-29 fighter jet and a Pantsir-S1 gun/missile air-defense system at the Khalino airfield in Kursk Oblast, roughly 7 km east of Kursk city. The…