The programme received a boost in the late 1990s with India's requirement for a ship-borne fighter following the purchase of a former Soviet aircraft carrier.

[13] The KVP first flew on 21 August 1982, and was subject to extensive trials which demonstrated it could safely operate from a ski-jump, but ideally a production aircraft needed more power and greater wing area.

According to the results of the tests, the landing accuracy proved to be very high, which made it possible at a later stage to switch over to a three-cable arrester system on Admiral Gorshkov.

[citation needed] The aircraft has an enlarged and folding wing, an arrestor hook and a corrosion-protected reinforced fuselage.

[29][30] Modifications were made to the MiG-29K for Indian requirements, including the Zhuk-ME radar, RD-33MK engine, a combat payload up to 5,500 kilograms (12,100 lb), 13 weapon stations, and updated 4-channel digital fly-by-wire flight control system.

It is theoretically possible to outfit the MiG-29KUB with powerful radar, and encrypted data links, to permit networking of multiple MiG-29KUB aircraft for AEW coverage.

Folding wings, an arrestor hook, and catapult attachments were added for carrier operations; the aircraft's undercarriage track was also widened.

[33][34] The RD-33MK engine features 7% higher power over the base RD-33, enabled by the usage of improved materials for the turbine blades.

[3][verification needed] The types of combat missions undertaken by the MiG-29K can be increased by adding optronic/infrared imaging reconnaissance pods.

The radar, weighing 220 kilograms (490 lb), features improved signal processing and a detection range of up to 120 km (75 mi) vs a 5 m2 RCS target for the export variant.

India is already operating the Bars phased array radar on its Su-30MKI and has specified AESA as a critical element of the MRCA platform.

[citation needed] The MiG-29K has a combination of low-observable technology, advanced electronic-warfare capabilities, reduced ballistic vulnerability, and standoff weapons to enhance the fighter's survivability.

[42] In January 2010, India and Russia signed a deal worth US$1.2 billion for the Indian Navy to receive an additional 29 MiG-29Ks.

[48] One problem is that Western and Ukrainian sanctions on Russia have prevented Mikoyan importing components for assembly at the factory, instead they have had to be installed "on the flightline" in India.

[53] In 2017, the Indian government announced the planned replacement of the MiG-29 with 57 new aircraft, with a competition primarily between the French Dassault Rafale and the American Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

[54][55] In December 2018 when addressing the press on the eve of Navy Day CNS Admiral Lanba noted regarding the MiG-29K, "there is no issue on supplies of spare parts from Russia at the moment...

The Indian Navy plans to deploy the MiG-29K onboard its first domestically built carrier, INS Vikrant, and will acquire further combat jets with updated capabilities for this purpose.

Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba announced that issues related to maintenance and availability of spare parts for the MiG-29K fleet, which had previously undermined their readiness, had been resolved.

Around 10 to 12 will receive an upgrade including the Gefest SVP-24 bombsight for free-fall bombs, giving them a limited ground attack capability,[57] but more aircraft were needed.

India paid $730 million for the development and delivery of 16 units, while 24 for the Russian Navy would cost approximately $1 billion.

[63][64] Data from Rosoboronexport,[80] Mikoyan,[11] Gordon and Davidson,[81] deagel.com,[1][verification needed] airforce-technology.com,[82] Business World[83]General characteristics Performance Armament Others: Avionics