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| Mikoyan MiG AT |
Militarymedia.net - MiG and Yakovlev are struggling to secure a potential advanced trainer contract to replace up to 1,000 Aero L-29 and L-39 trainers in service with the Russian air force and the CIS. There is also broader interest in their designs in the export market. The MiG MAPO competitor is the MiG AT (Advanced Trainer). Although classified as orthodox, the straight wing design is claimed to have the same Alpha handling as the MiG-29.
MiG AT was developed as a joint venture with Turbomeca and SNECMA for the Larzac engine and Sextant Avionique for avionics. Mikoyan has built three flying prototypes for initial fly-off evaluation. The first prototype represented a version of the ATF base trainer for the export market, with a modified version of the Topflight Sextant modular avionics range. The second is the standard MiG ATR trainer, with Russian avionics. The third is a prototype for the combat-capable trainer MiG ATS. It has a helmet-mounted target designation system, provision for seven external hardpoints (replacing the three basic trainers) and a variety of midline targeting pods. The as-yet unbuilt US MiG will be a single seat, described as an analogue of the BAE Hawk 200.
Mikoyan also offers the MiG AT variant with folding wings, retaining hooks and reinforced landing gear. All variants use mostly Russian systems and equipment. The first prototype made its maiden flight in March 1996. By 2001, all three prototypes had flown and initial serial production of a further 16 aircraft was underway.
The future of the MiG AT is still uncertain. The Mikoyan design bureau has been aggressively marketing the aircraft. However he lost to BAE Systems Hawk in his first competition in South Africa. The MiG AT was also unable to compete with the Yak-130 to meet the needs of the Russian Air Force. In 2009, a trainer developed by the Yakovlev design bureau was selected.
