The document — titled “Report on the Reliability and Performance of the Zhuk-ME Radar in MiG-29K/KUB Aircraft of the Indian Navy” — was reportedly taken from sources connected to Rostec, Russia’s state defense conglomerate. It outlines years of discussions between Russian and Indian officials concerning low radar reliability, repeated component failures, and unresolved contractual obligations.
According to the report, the radar’s reliability fell far below the levels specified in India’s 2004 procurement contract with Russia’s MiG Corporation (RAC MiG).
The document cites contractual requirements setting the radar’s mean time between failures (MTBF) at 150 flight hours and its mean time between defects (MTBD) at 120 hours. However, real-world performance data gathered during annual Russo-Indian reliability conferences at the Indian Navy’s INS Hansa airbase revealed much lower results.
Between 2016 and 2018, the MiG-29K fleet logged repeated radar breakdowns. In early 2016, reliability values were recorded at only 20 hours MTBD and 97 hours MTBF, well below the contract’s threshold.
By mid-2017, MTBF had dropped to just 60 hours, though later tests briefly showed improvement. Even then, Indian officers continued to raise formal complaints about “unsatisfactory radar operation” and repeated equipment failures in memos to RAC MiG and Russia’s defense export agencies.
The internal correspondence references several memoranda from the Indian Navy criticizing radar reliability, including documents dated March, June, and July 2018, all highlighting malfunctioning Zhuk-ME units and delays in repairs. The Indian side reportedly requested that all radar systems be reworked at Russian expense after limited tests on three upgraded radars showed “satisfactory” results but failed to solve broader reliability concerns.
The leaked report also indicates that part of the recorded flight time used for reliability calculations included sorties flown with mock radar modules, artificially inflating reliability statistics and masking the system’s true operational shortcomings. “The actual indicator cannot represent the factual reliability of the Zhuk-ME radar,” the document states.
In response to the repeated failures, Russia’s NIIR Phazotron, the radar’s developer, reportedly carried out several redesigns and block replacements under the supervision of KRET, another Rostec subsidiary. These efforts were meant to bring the radar up to its contractual performance levels. However, according to the leaked material, the question of who would fund the remaining upgrades “remains open.”
By May 2019, the Indian Navy had formally removed the Zhuk-ME radar from its Original Manufacturer Certificate, effectively delisting it as a certified component of its MiG-29K/KUB aircraft.
The leak is the latest in a series of disclosures by Black Mirror, which has repeatedly targeted Russian state defense entities, including firms within Rostec. The newly released materials shed light on long-standing reliability issues affecting one of India’s most expensive fighter procurement programs — and on the growing strain in Russian-Indian defense cooperation over technical quality and post-sale support.
