Russia Wants to Sell North Korea MiG-29s. Should the West Be Worried?
The MiG-29’s impressive design features have not always translated to aerial victories.
Last December, it was reported that the Russian Federation, thanks to its growing alliance with North Korea, intended to sell the North Korean air force a tranche of warplanes, notably the MiG-29. This would drastically improve the capabilities of the North Korean air force, which continues using what amounts to ancient warplanes handed over to them by the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China at the height of the Cold War.
Of course, the MiG-29 is not the world’s most advanced plane. But it is still a big step up for the North Koreans, which continues to rely on even older planes.
The decision to hand over MiG-29s to Pyongyang shows the growing relationship between Russia and North Korea, which has evolved specifically because of the Ukraine War and Russia’s paucity of foreign allies. In exchange for North Korean artillery shells—and, more recently, the deployment of some North Korean troops in Kursk as obvious cannon fodder—North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is now getting sophisticated military aid from Russia.
Interestingly, this was a step that the Russians had declined to take in the decades following the Cold War—even as the Russian economy stagnated in the 1990s and military sales could have been a key lifeline for the ailing Yeltsin regime. In fact, Moscow likely would have never made such a deal had it not been for the breakdown in relations with the transatlantic community over the Ukraine War.
The MiG-29’s Specs
The MiG-29 emerged from a Soviet requirement in the early 1970s to develop a new generation of fighter aircraft capable of achieving air superiority. The United States had unveiled its iconic F-15 Eagle, a twin-engine heavy fighter, and was working on the lightweight F-16. In response, the Soviet Air Force tasked the legendary Mikoyan design bureau with creating a versatile, agile fighter that could keep up with—and even outpace—the new American warplanes that were at the time just coming online.
The MiG-29 was the fruit of those labors by the engineers at Mikoyan. It first took flight on October 6, 1977, and officially entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1982.
The MiG-29 was part of a broader Soviet strategy to field two complementary aircraft: a lightweight fighter (the MiG-29) and its heavier counterpart (the Su-27 Flanker), more or less mirroring the F-16 and F-15 in American service. While the Su-27 was designed for long-range engagements and multi-role missions, the MiG-29 was intended as a highly maneuverable dogfighter, optimized for close-range aerial combat. Its development reflected the Soviet emphasis on countering NATO’s technological edge while maintaining cost-effectiveness and mass production potential.
A twin-engine, single-seat jet with a distinctive aerodynamic profile, the MiG-29 is a sleek, blended-wing design with sharply angled air intakes meant to enhance its exceptional maneuverability. Powered by two Klimov RD-33 turbofan engines, the MiG-29 can achieve speeds of up to Mach 2.25 (or 1,490 miles per hour) and has a combat radius of around 434 miles. Its range can be extended with external fuel tanks, too. And the bird can perform high-G maneuvers and climb vertically with ease, making it a dogfighter extraordinaire.
One of the best features of the MiG-29 is its avionics suite, which was advanced for its era. Early models were equipped with the N019 Slot Black radar, capable of tracking multiple targets at a range of up to 62 miles.
The jet featured an infrared search and track (IRST) system, allowing it to detect and engage targets without relying solely on radar, a significant advantage in electronic warfare (EW) scenarios. Its helmet-mounted sight, paired with the R-73 Archer missile, enabled off-boresight targeting: in other words, pilots could lock onto enemies simply by looking at them, a capability that gave the MiG-29 an edge in close combat.
The aircraft’s armament is equally impressive. It can carry a mix of air-to-air missiles such as the R-27 and R-73, air-to-ground munitions, and a 30mm GSh-30-1 cannon for strafing runs. While primarily an air superiority fighter, later variants of the MiG-29 have been adapted for multi-role missions, including ground attack and reconnaissance.
The MiG-29’s Mixed Record
Unfortunately, the MiG-29’s impressive design features have not always translated to aerial victories. Notably, though the plane was introduced during the Soviet era, the Cold War never turned hot—and when the plane went to war, it was in a series of foreign conflicts unassociated with Moscow. Conflicts ranging from the Yugoslav Wars to the Eritrea-Ethiopian War defined its existence. More recently, the MiG-29 has also been used by Wagner Group mercenaries operating against Islamist militants in Libya, and it has seen extensive combat in the ongoing Ukraine War, where it has allegedly suffered significant losses.
And planes are only as good as their pilots and upkeep. In almost every conflict mentioned above, the combatants using these planes neglected their maintenance and were poorly trained—with lackluster combat results.
But the plane has excelled in the hands of Russian pilots, such as the Wagner Group in Libya. Even the MiG-29s lost in the Ukraine War have mostly been on the Ukrainian side, as the plane has been poorly matched against Russia’s superior air defenses. For its part, Russia has relegated the MiG-29 to the role of a training plane, rather than fielding it in the unfriendly skies over Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Moscow is interested in selling some of these planes to North Korea. While the sale will not place North Korea at parity with the U.S.-backed South Korean air force, it does represent a significant upgrade from what North Korea has. That alone is problematic for Northern Asia, which has been made to contend with an increasingly belligerent—and advancing—North Korea.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Jasper Dalgliesh.