The Mikoyan MiG-35 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-35; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-F) is a Russian multirole fighter that is designed by Mikoyan, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). Marketed as a 4++ generation jet fighter, it is a further development of the MiG-29M/M2 and MiG-29K/KUB fighters. According to a Russian defense industry source, the Mikoyan MiG-35 is essentially an upgraded variant of the MiG-29KR. Many consider MiG-35 a new name given by Mikoyan for marketing. The first prototype was a modification of the aircraft that previously served as a MiG-29M2 model demonstrator given temporary name MiG-35 but a later prototype was a different model with different equipment that served as the base for the MiG-35 as is known today. Mikoyan first officially presented the MiG-35 internationally during the 2017 Moscow air show; the first two serial production aircraft entered service in 2019.
The single-seat version is designated MiG-35S and the two-seat version MiG-35UB. The fighter has vastly improved avionics and weapon systems compared to early variants of MiG-29, notably new precision-guided targeting capability and the uniquely designed optical locator system, which relieves the aircraft from relying on ground-controlled interception systems and enables it to conduct independent multirole missions. Serial production aircraft use a PESA radar and there is also an option available for AESA radar. The serial production aircraft does not have thrust vectoring control as previously planned.
