The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) received on Thursday (23) the first four Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets donated by Slovakia. The planes were flown by aviators from Ukraine itself.
These are just the first of a batch of 13 planes promised by Slovakia, shortly after Poland also had announced the transfer of its own MiGs to Kiev. The remaining aircraft will travel to the country in the coming weeks.
The Slovak Ministry of Defense (MoD) released a video of the planes taking off yesterday. The images show the MiG-29s being prepared on the ground and leaving for the country invaded by Russia in February 2022. The jets took off unarmed, still bearing the liveries and registrations (2123 and 6124) of the Slovak Air Force, but without the markings of the military organization.
“Thanks to everyone involved for a fantastic professional job”, Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď said in a statement. “Slovakia is on the right side, and with this gesture we, as a country, write ourselves in capital letters in the history of the modern world, which speaks of timely help, sincere solidarity and the greatness of the nation.”
Nad also pointed out that the country is “providing Ukraine with unnecessary technology”, referring to the retirement of the planes, in August 2022, and the imminent arrival of the new Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70, scheduled for 2024.
“The rest of the planes will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks, but for operational reasons the department will not provide further details. The transfer will be confirmed immediately after the safe transfer to the Ukrainian side, as in this case.”, says the folder in release.
The transfer marked the first donation of fighter jets to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022. The country has been requesting the transfer of planes for more than a year, but until now it had only received parts and tools for maintenance, not whole hunts.
As noted by The War Zone, take the whole planes in flight "goes against the russian warnings against the nations that supply additional fighters to Ukraine and especially transport them directly to the country.”
MiG-29 Fulcrum
The MiG-29 project emerged in the Soviet Union in the 1970s, as a response to the Perspektivnyy Lyogkiy Frontovoy Istrebite (Front-Line Advanced Light Fighter) requirement. The aircraft would be a response to the North American F-16, as well as a complement to the larger and heavier Sukhoi Su-27, also used by Ukraine today.
Initially called just “Product 9”, the MiG-29 first flew in October 1977, entering service in 1983. The model was distributed among the various fighter aviation regiments of the USSR, as well as to countries of the Pact of Warsaw and Moscow-aligned nations. Twenty-three air forces still operate it.
The aircraft has a pair of Klimov RD-33 engines, which, although powerful, are well known for being “smoky”. Even so, they take the MiG-29 to more than 2400 km/h, flying high and unarmed.
The Fulcrum, as it is called by NATO, has a 30 mm cannon and seven hardpoints to carry missiles, bombs and rockets. In Ukraine, it was adapted to use the US AGM-88 anti-radar missiles. More than 1600 planes were manufactured and the aircraft is still in production in its most modern versions: MiG-29M2, naval MiG-29K and MiG-35.
