Yefim Gordon brings you his latest in the Famous Russian Aircraft series, this time focusing on the Mig-29. The Mig-29 was and is the modern backbone of many former Eastern Block and Soviet Client State air forces. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact it has spread into the air forces of other nations. MAPO-Mig has not kept the design static but has developed a family of aircraft, either significant revisions of the original design or upgrades of the original airframe. Fittingly, this is a large and impressive book, sized appropriately for such an important aircraft. Not a mere monograph, it is what Yefim does best, combining a narrative discussion of the development of the Mig-29 and its developmental derivatives with lots of pictures, drawings and illustrations.

This is a continuation of the in depth “Famous Russian Aircraft Series” with its sharper graphics and cleaner format. Midland makes good use of color and it can be found throughout. Because most of the lifespan of the Mig-29 has been during a period of openness in the Soviet Union and Russia the book is loaded with sharp, clear photographs. Yefim again has demonstrated his uncanny ability to track down and collect many rare and insightful images and models. There are so many that it is hard to summarize what is included in this large volume, but they cover: the development, prototypes, operational airframes, demonstration aircraft, construction and maintenance views, walk-arounds, armament and the numerous air forces. Also included in addition to the photographs are detailed drawings, numerous color profiles and sales brochure diagrams. The text is well written and provides a good narrative in each chapter. The chapter breakdown is as follows:

• Part 1. Taking Shape is a fascinating look at how the desired performance parameters and capabilities drove and revised the design including the coincident development of the weapons systems.
• Part 2. Learning to Fly chronicles the prototypes and the flight test program that resulted in the Mig-29 as introduced to Soviet VVS in 1984.
• Part 3. The Family Starts Growing outlines versions of the original airframe developed for internal and export use – most notable the Fulcrum-C with extended range. Many of these were export versions were distinguished by the systems differences tailored to the tier of client state. The remainder of variants, have been developmental test beds that did not go into production or upgrades of the Mig-29A for post-cold operators. This section includes a family tree to help sort out the often-confusing lineage.
• Part 4. The New Generation looks at the development of significant upgrades of the Mig-29 in an effort to enhance performance, whether for VVS use or more often for post cold war export customers. Part of the discussion centers on the early Mig-29M, a much advanced but unaffordable version that was the progenitor to the later advanced Mig-29s.
• Part 5. Pushing for the Navy studies the background for and the development of the Mig-29K the competitor to the Su-27K that ultimately lost the Russian competition but 15 years later is in production for India. The chapter does a good job in outlining the developmental improvements during the intervening years.
• Part 6. New Lords, New Upgrades is the developmental history of the Mig-29SMT – a significant upgrade of the basic Mig-29A airframe, including a large dorsal spine for extra fuel, a glass cockpit, and enhanced air-to-ground capability.
• Part 7. The 21st Century Generation. This chapter brings us to the present with the current generation of improved Mig-29s, including a newer Mig-29SMT, the latest Mig-29K, the Mig-29M, Mig-29M2 and the Mig-29OVT (thrust vectoring).
• Part 8. The Mig-29 in Action traces the operation history of the Mig-29 in Soviet/Russian service. At the tail end of the chapter there is a discussion of the performance of the Mig-29 in the 1st Gulf War by Iraq, over Kosovo by rump Yugoslavia and in Eritrea by the new government. This chapter includes some nice color profiles.
• Part 9. The Mig-nificent Displays chapter chronicles not only the visits to the west by Mig-29 fighters at the tail end of the cold war, but also the Russian and Ukrainian flight demonstration teams that operated the plane.
• Part 10. The Mig-29 in Detail. This is the chapter with the nice close-up shots for the modeler and armchair enthusiast alike. It contains lots of the system information as well. The photos of the cockpits go a long way to sort out what is a confusing series of upgrades. There is a lot of weapons information as well. Finally this is the chapter with the aircraft drawings and cut-aways.
• Part 11. The Mig-29 vs The Competition. Once again Yefim Gordon profiles a Russian fighter against its western contemporaries. This time, thanks to the Luftwaffe and NATO, there is a lot of evidence for the performance of the Mig-29 against many of NATO’s newest fighter. Based on performance and design approach, it appears that the Mig-29 is comparable to the F-16 but edging it out in performance. He also compares the Mig-29 against the F-18C, EF2000 and Mirage 2000-5. This is a fascinating read with lots of performance charts and tables.
• Part 12. The Operators. Finally this chapter lists all of the users of the Mig-29 and there a many. The number of Warsaw Pact an Soviet Client states was significant, but when the Soviet union dissolved and some of the former Warsaw Pact nations gave up the type, the plane ended up in the hands of many more nations, such as the US, Peru and Eritrea. Each nation has a good summary of usage, serial numbers operated and more importantly some photographs and color profiles. Each section has nice artwork of that nation’s roundel and fin flash, very helpful when modeling of some of the lesser-known operators.
• Appendix. Production List. A list of all aircraft produced, by production number and their fate.

This is a book dense with information and an invaluable reference. At the same time it is relatively easy to read, but more challenging if you are not well versed in technical terminology and Soviet/Russian developmental organizations. It is a book that you will want to read through and then go back to revisit the chapters to glean additional details missed the first time. This book has got to be the most definitive so far on the Fulcrum and should be in your library if you are a devotee of the plane.