Why India buy MiG 29 fighter jets even after so many crashes | Why India buy 'Flying Coffin' | MiG 29 keeps crashing

MIG fighter jets have crashed many times over the years, killing and injuring Air Force pilots. And this aircraft is also called 'Flying Coffin' because it crashes a lot. And they crash a lot not only in India but also in Russia. So why does the Indian government still want to buy it? 

Why is India buying MiG aircraft even after so many accidents? These aircraft have also become very old which is not right for two front war because India has always been at risk of two front war from Pakistan and China. In July, when tensions between India and China increased, India ordered MiG Fighter jets from Russia. India placed orders for 21 MiG-29s, including 33 new fighter jets. But this purchase has been described as 'wrong' by the defense experts and said that it will only increase the number of fighter aircraft of India and it will not increase the strength of the Indian Air Force, this aircraft is not right for the Indian Air Force.

 Troubled past of MiG-29K

The MiG-29K was taken by India just 10 to 15 years ago. India took it in 2004 and 2010. But in a very short time many MiG-29K accidents have occurred, including this year's accident. Crashed on 23 February 2020, crash on 14 November 2019, again in 2018, there have been many such accidents in the last 10 to 15 years.

Even Russians can't fly it

MiG-29K accidents have occurred several times not only in India but also in Russia. In 2016, the MiG-29K aircraft crashed in mid-ocean after after takeoff from Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.

The engine had a problem after takeoff, causing the fighter jet to crash due to heavy technical difficulty. This fighter jet has many technical faults due to which it has crashed or is happening.

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India object to MiG-29K

The CAG of India has also questioned the MiG-29K. After witnessing these accidents, the CAG referred to it in its two reports in 2016 and 2018 and said that this fighter jet is not safe for Indian pilots.

In its 2016 CAG report, after observing the fighter jet, it stated in its report "the MiG 29K, which is a carrier-borne multi-role aircraft and the mainstay of integral fleet air defence, is riddled with problems relating to airframe, RD MK-33 engine and fly-by-wire system".

You can also search CAG report on Google. you can search  "PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON

CONSTRUCTION OF INDIGENOUS AIRCRAFT

CARRIER" or click here to see this report. Then you can search in this report "riddled with problems" so you can see the problems of MiG 29K.

                

The CAG has said in its report that despite such a mess in this fighter, we are buying it again and again. The CAG has also said in its report that serviceability of MiG 29K was low. It is a very old thing that the service of Russia is very bad. Russia has never provided spare parts of fighter jets on time, very slowly they provide all these spare parts.

So why India buys these fighter jets even after many problems

These fighter jets fly Russian pilots or Indian pilots, they crash in both countries.Then after that CAG has also mentioned that these fighter jets are not good for India. So why is India repeatedly buying this fighter jet?

So the main attraction of the MiG-29 is its cost. It is three times cheaper than Rafael. There are many disadvantages of being cheap, such as here you have to compromise in term of airframe and also lower reliability,serviceability and availability. The life of the MiG engine is also shorter than that of Rafale.

If we talk about service, the private companies in the Nordic countries, European countries, and the USA that provide aircraft will have better serviceability than Russian owned government companies.

Sweden gave India a good offer

In 2014, Sweden's company told India that we wanted to build a naval version of the Gripen called Sea Gripen, which we will build in joint development with India, in which Sweden will transfer technology and also invest. But India again opted for the MiG-29. So here India has to think whether they want quality or quantity

Conclusion

Why isn't India buying the F-18 Super Hornet or even the Gripen?

So here I think India will have to think whether it will continue to use 30 to 40 years old airframe aircraft and will risk the lives of its pilots. Or India can also use many options like Sweden has offered Gripen and USA has offered F-16 Super Hornet, their reliability, serviceability and availability are also very good.

The main reason behind buying MiG-29 is its cost. If we compare the cost of the MiG-29 and the USA Super Hornet, a unit of the Mikoyan MiG-29 costs US $ 15 million while a unit of the Super Hornet costs US $ 66 million. That is, it will cost almost four times more to buy a super hornet than a MiG29.