This is Why the MiG-29 Cannot Compete With the Smaller F-16.

I keep hearing how the Mig29 has beaten the F16 and the F15 but the real world tally says something totally different. It is a beautiful plane, but it’s performance numbers are near as good as the F15, hence the world records the F15 holds, IE: time to climb “only plane to exceed Mach speeds in a vertical climb “, 104 to 0 combat record, also the MiG29 has nowhere near the radar power of either the F15 or a block 40 F16, and upgrades only made the American aircraft more deadly than ever. Like I said, the real world numbers speak for themselves.

There is also the factor of pilot training and skill development.

Is that the same vaulted Soviet territorial defense system that missed a Cessna landing in Red Square???

The Mig-29 has been in combat against the F-15 several times and it lost every engagement. The F-15 Eagle has never been defeated in air to air combat. It has a 104 to 0 kill to loss ratio, half of which were Mig29.

Great video, going into the meat of the issue instead of reading WIki specs

Its failure is mainly due to the fact that its performance depends on ground radar guidance, which must be very advanced and have wide coverage areas to allow the pilot to make decisions that help him successfully complete his task, which was not available or not good enough in the countries that use this plane. The plane cannot be considered a failure , the planes encountered The Western ones were the export versions of the MiG-29, which were not equipped with all the advanced technologies that the Russians possessed. Also, the Western fighters fought confrontations against the migs where lacked combat readiness for many reasons. The figures on the number of victories are somewhat misleading. They can only be relied upon if they confront Russian planes and pilots. The Russians can then have a fair assessment of the efficiency of all types of aircraft, not just Russian ones.

All i know about this is that, in DCS, handling the MiG-29 in dogfight is much more demanding than doing the same with a F-16 block 50.

It is small fighter used by SSSR PVO - defensive air forces. Design is sound and very well for its age. 1988 Mig-29 fighting 1988 F-16 over SSSR teritorry will win almost every time. However time doesn't stop for anybody and 1988 Mig-29 is no match for 2018 Block 70 F-16. Primary failure of Mig-29 was that it was not upgraded. It was not upgraded because of its price - running cost were about 80% of Su-27 while being much less usefull. SSSR and Russia had plans for multiple versions, much upgraded Mig-35, and much cheaper Project 33 - a single engine version. Given collapse of SSSR and money constraints of Russia it was effectively canceled. It is a decent platform but with too high costs for what if offers.

I remember when East Germany returned to the West a US Colonial got to fly the Mig-29. This was an old Mig against a modern Mig and the pilot said the F=16 had the advantage over that Mig in Tech but in a dog fight it would destroy the F-16. I would like to see it put up against a Mig-35 instead. Using stats remember the US went up against third world countries that used monkey models and third class pilots not Russian or Chinese. We are learning all that superior Western equipment is being destroyed in Ukraine by the Russians. Some might say it isn't being used by the Western Forces is also what I am saying about there great kill rational they got fighting third world forces.

Frequently out-mached by F-16? Lol a Famous Dutch F-16 pilot once said that merging with Mig-29 he would rather eject than continue fighting. Mig had socio-economic problems not performance ones. When Soviet Union collapsed Russia decided to focus improving his bigger brother Su-27 and market it for export as well. But before that entire eastern block had Migs including the 29 model. Today the 35 model is more than capable to put the most modern F-16 and F-18 versions at their place.

if its a mig29A or S with just r77s yea for bvr f16 would defiantly have advantage with aim120ds. But if you are comparing them for back in the day when both were released fox1 where they are close to merging mig29 with the right pilot can easily take out a f16. And if you are talking about maneuverability for just a guns only dogfight mig29 is a monster for that it has a insane thrust to weight 1.09 and thats with full fuel 4 aam's and a full center drop tank. The f16 on other hand is 1.1 and thats dry without any pylons or missiles. I cant find thrust weight on mig29 but id assume its higher then the f16 without it fully loaded.

Another fact: The Mig 29's do not have inflight refulling probes, so eith they can either use dropable fuel tanks or fly within a 300 miles radius of their airfield.

The Mig-29 was a rush job. It wasn't what the designers wanted

Soviets downgraded the military equipments for export that's well known ..the high kill-rate by Nato during the gulf war and Kosovo wasn't surprising...

Did f15 really encountered Russian pilots 😉

The thing about the 29 is it's limited combat range/radius..

Pilot load on the MiG-29 is way higher than on the F-16.

Russian military has never been good at marketing their products

The Mig29 will not likely have anything to do with the f16. The Su57 and 35 both have superior electronics and radars than any US aircraft and will most likely be tasked with countering the F16s. The F16 will merely be too little and too late to have any impact...

The MIG-28 was a vastly superior fighter.