EXCLUSIVE: Navy’s MiG-29K Squadron To Be Called “Black Panthers”

The Navy’s brand new INAS 303 squadron is being christened “Black Panthers” and will get its first four MiG-29Ks in late October or early November. The squadron emblem (to the right) will be painted on the tails of all the MiG-29Ks — a snarling Black Panther, with a red mouth and nose, and yellow eyes. According to sources, there had been talk of naming the squadron “Sea Wolves”, though the Navy finally took a call to name the squadron after a big cat, like the White Tigers squadron is.

Sources at Naval HQ indicate that Commander Theophilus is tipped to take over as the first Commanding Officer of the Black Panthers squadron. Cdr Theophilus currently heads the Intensive Flying & Testing Unit (IFTU) that has been raised in anticipation of the MiG-29K.

The contract for 16 MiG-29K jets was signed with RAC-MiG on Jan 20, 2004 for $740.35-million, with an agreed delivery commencement date of June 2007 (more than two years late, as usual). More details on the Indian Navy’s preparations for the MiG-29K soon on LiveFist.

28 thoughts on “EXCLUSIVE: Navy’s MiG-29K Squadron To Be Called “Black Panthers””

  1. Basically leopards and panthers are same genus. Normally the black leopards are called panthers. So by panther it is widely accepted as black in color. Do you remember Mowgli story? So why should have another black in front of panthers? I would call them as "sea eagles"

  2. Panthers and leopards are of the same family. Both are predatory nocturnal animals whose ferocity is legendary.

    If the airborne wing of the navy is happy with the name, who are we to dispute?

    Good hunting guys!

  3. There is already another "Black Panthers"!! No.37 Squadron of the Indian Airforce also has a black panther as their squadron emblem. They are affectionately called the "Black Panties". Surely the Navy should have known this.

  4. we have received two years( ordered in 2004 ) late for this 4 nos itself of mig29k. if india selects 126 nos in mmrca deals , i think first four mig-35 will be delivered to us by 2020.

  5. Guys,

    1. Do not crash the bloody planes.

    2. Train Train & Train

    3. Get the Isrealies to send a F15 or 16 secretly and try to measure up against it.

    4. Best of Luck and Godspeed.

  6. Folks ,

    Can the Navy handle the two engined
    planes ? They have lost half the Harriers , so I am slightly concerned.

  7. Incidently this name has also been adopted by a lesser known dalit political party in Maharashtra.So it is very much Indian.

  8. Lets clear a misconception right now… The Mig-29 and the Sea Harriers are two totally different aircraft with totally different thrust technologies involved. The Harrier's V/STOL technology is a complicated one which is maintenance/training/skill intensive as well as unpredictable/unreliable to boot. Most harrier takeoffs/landings involve a combination of vertical and horizontal thrust (let's call it 'transistional thrust') – this is a tricky manoeuvre for both the pilot as well as the aircraft. Most of the Harrier crashes have occured due pilot error/equipment failure during the transistional thrust phase of flight. So compared to the Harrier, the Mig-29 should be a breeze to fly.

    To anon at 6.32 p.m.: The IAF Black panthers operate the Mig-21M which is slated for phaseout. So by the time the navy 'black panties' come to full strength, the airforce black panties would've been 'numberplated' – i.e. the squadron would've been disbanded.

  9. to the ignoramus that said that Panthers don't exist in India- go read up a bit on the wildlife of India, you moron..

    black panthers are nothing but leopards with a pigment problem that leads to their colour being dark. Jaguars can be black and so can leopards and if you've read Valmik Thapar's "The Destiny of the Tiger" (btw, since you're so ignorant, Valmik Thapar is considered to be an authority on tigers), even black tigers existed. the White Tigers of Reva are albino tigers that were saved by the Maharaja of Reva from becoming extinct.

  10. Good post by Anonymous at 10:04 PM..

    I must add that Harriers and Sea Harriers have been notorious for being very tricky for pilots to transition to. the cockpit has a small lever next to the throttle can controls the nozzle attitude. as the pilot pushes this lever on a quadrant up ahead, the nozzles rotate to allow for a vertical take off and the pilot then slowly transitions to forward flight, all the time keeping an eye on the throttle, and other gauges. its actually very difficult and before entering service, Harriers crashed predominantly during this phase of flight.

    I've been mentioning this everywhere- for those who are raising the issue of the attrition in the IN, PLEASE look up on the internet for the Royal Navy's Sea Harrier attrition. they too lost nearly half their fleet in accidents.

  11. Shiv, I have a question that I would appreciate if you could find an answer for-

    why is it that the IAF stopped having squadron emblems on its aircraft ? the IN continues to have the White Tiger emblem on its Sea Harriers near the nose, and now the Black Panthers have their squadron emblem on the tail. Why did the IAF discontinue it on its aircraft ? I was especially disappointed when the No.1 Tigers and No. 7 Battle Axes emblems below the cockpit was removed from the IAF's Mirages..

  12. I have some questions GURUS.

    1.Read somewhere that Mig-29K can't launch at maximum take off weight.
    2.How does it compare against Su-33 in terms of no of weapons it can carry and range etc…??
    3.Are we going to MKIing it to replace Russian electronics with French And Israeli ones??
    4.Now that aircraft carrier is going to be delivered only after 2012 where are we going to station it??
    5.Don't you 16 Mig-29K is just too low??We can have atleast two more squadrons.

    Regards;

  13. No Karthik, you are not exactly correct.

    "Panther" is a generic term often used to describe everything from cougars, jaguars to leopards.

    The "black panthers" found in parts of India are leopards with a colour variation and the word "panther" is often used to describe normal leopards as well. "Panther" is easier on the tongue than "leopard."

    So, as a matter of fact, "panthers" don't exist as a species in India, leopards do.

  14. Black Panthers!!
    Train Hard, Fight Harder!!!
    Heres to the start of another era of glorious seamanship.. er.. airmanship.
    And yes The Blach Panties is a good name. 37 Sqn too has pilots who stand by it fiercely, proudly. So shall the Navy.
    Be real pros and 'touch the sky with glory'.

  15. to anon @ 11:08pm

    all the a/c (single seater) are infact modified twin seaters with the rear seat removed to add an extra fuel cell….rest assured it's going be one hell of an a/c….almost in the league of F-15…..some of the most outstanding features are the extra fuel pack in the cockpit ( as I have mentioned before), AAR probe, gold-plated canopy, wing mounted retractable ladder ( a.k.a F-18E/F) and the use of composites in the fuselage.

  16. er is this a flora and fauna discussion forum?

    pls. lets not discuss big cats here…and keep it to military affairs.

    on a positive note it appears Shiv is not publishing vincent's comments anymore – thank god for that!

    a big pain in the ass is gone now.

  17. why the hell everyone taking on name it doesnt matter only specs talk
    better ask israelis to come india with their best planes and start practicing full fledge that will help us how inferior these planes

  18. dont know why people keep on linking india with israel… we dont benchmark our navy with israeli navy, nor are there any deep ties between them.

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