MiG-29SMT with AKU-170 pylons

This photo of a Russian MiG-29SMT is remarkable because the inner wing pylons are AKU-170s. This means that RVV-AE missiles are available. This type of missile had been seen on Russian Su-35s but not on MiG-29s. Economical crisis during the 1990s prevented acquisition and fielding of this type of missile.

The photo was taken in the Volga region, but the unit has not been identified. MiG-29SMT are used by 14th Fighter Aviation Regiment (14 IAP), based in Kursk. In 2014 Alexander Mladenov stated that it was likely that new built SMTs would be assigned to 31th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (31 GIAP), based in Millerovo (near the Volga region). This regiment was the last using vanilla MiG-29.

References:

- russianplanes.net
- https://vk.com/military_aircraft