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mig needed the contract to get the economies of scale that would allow it to sell 72 MiG-35s at an affordable unit price to the Russian Air Force. RuAF purchases of the mig35 depended on the platform's selection by the IAF not the other way round. This and the fail performance at the mmrca will likely kill its chances, if any, with other potential customers in Asia and Latin America.
Without this contract, the mig35 program is dead and probably MiG with it.