Mikoyan MiG-29 and MiG-35 Book Review

By David L. Veres

Review

Purge your library of any other Fulcrum reference: Crécy’s Mikoyan MiG-29 & MiG-35: Famous Russian Aircraft is the only volume you'll really need.

Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov’s terrific tome tells the total tale in 688 pithy pages across eleven chunky chapters:

• Taking shape
• Learning to fly
• Into production: ‘First-generation’ Fulcrums
• Fulcrum anatomy
• A step towards a new generation
• Pushing for the Navy
• MiG-29SMT: New wine in old flasks
• ‘Generation 4++’: On deck again
• ‘Generation 4++’: The land-based versions
• In service
• Fulcrums far and wide

Crécy’s revised, enlarged extrapolation of the authors’ 2006 volume includes new information, line drawings, color artwork, and production lists.

Contents also cover new MiG-29 variants, expanded international use, combat service, and the MiG-35 with active electronically scanned array radar.

Design. Development. Deployment. Recollections. Anecdotes. Armament. Avionics. Materials. Powerplants. Structures. Systems. Serials. Demonstrators. Variants. Upgrades. Warpaint. And more.

Prepare yourself for absolutely astounding levels of detail. Proposals. Prototypes. Performance. Production. It’s all here – even a stealth technology testbed.

And it’s full of fascinating facts. Ever wonder how the Soviets disguised prototype MiG-29s from prying spy satellites? How about the large number of MiG-29 prototypes? Or green and orange “bort” numbers? And why is Ethiopian Capt Esther Tolossa significant? Look here.

Nor must you sequentially read this beefy brick of a book. I ambled from international Fulcrums through “Generation 4++” naval notes and Soviet and Russian operations to everything else – and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Just expect that Gordon and Komissarov’s interpretations of international crises favor Russian perspectives.

Crécy’s picture-packed production sports hundreds of previously unpublished photos, close-up images, and worldwide service shots. Informative drawings illumine MiG-29 development, interior, and weapons details. And color artwork includes dozens of profile and plan views, detail insets, and unit badges.

Start planning those projects!

But exactly what scale(s) are those beautiful drawings? And why provide two sets of pp. 145-160?

Crécy’s admirably indexed study also lacks annotations and bibliographic notes – troubling in a work of this size and scope. And occasional caption issues surface.

Finally, this book really needs an acronym and abbreviation glossary. And colloquialisms like “cheapo” belong to casual journalism – not to distinguished histories.

Critiques aside, this massive, meaty monograph deserves inclusion in every library of Soviet and Russian aviation history. I loved it.

Robustly recommended!

My sincere thanks to Specialty Press for this review sample!