JSC Russian Aircraft Corp. MiG has started supplying upgraded MiG-29 fighters to the Indian air force.

The company, part of United Aircraft Corp., said three of the Fulcrum aircraft have been delivered and that it expects to eventually upgrade 57 more of the planes in India itself in cooperation with an Indian contractor.

Upgrading of the planes supports extension of its mission tasks and capability to detect and engage moving and stationary ground targets with precision weapons in all weather conditions.

Modifications also will extend its life to as much as 3,500 flight hours and its service life to as much as 40 years.

"The aircraft delivery, upgraded in Russia -- is the first step in the contract execution for the modernization of a large fleet of the Indian Air Force MiG-29s," said General Director of JSC RAC MiG Sergei Korotkov. "We are getting ready for the second phase of work, which provides modernization of fighters."