Russian commander: MiG-35 equal to U.S. F-35 fighter

The Russian army will use new MiG-35D multirole fighters as an equal to the U.S. F-35 fighters, the Air Force chief said on Tuesday. "We have not given up on the MiG-35D light aircraft project, but we will transfer to the T-50 [heavy fighter] in the future," Gen. Alexander Zelin, the Russian Air Force commander, said during his visit to the six-day air show MAKS-2011 that opened near Moscow on Tuesday. The U.S. Air Force began using the F-22 fifth generation fighter in the 2000s. America is now developing a lighter and less expensive version, the F-35. The MiG-35 is an advanced derivative of the MiG-29, which uses air-to-air and air-to-surface guided missiles and the Zhuk A radar (Zhuk AE in exports).