Three NATO member countries operate these fighters of Soviet origin

Ukraine could receive MiG-29 fighters from several countries with support of US and UK

The possibility of Ukraine finally receiving the long-awaited combat aircraft from other countries is getting closer to becoming a reality.

Poland announces that it is ready to deliver a part of its MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine
The MiG-29 of the Polish Air Force: a video that shows us what its pilots experience

Poland could send its MiG-29 to Ukraine in 4 or 6 weeks

As we have already seen here, last week Poland announced that it was ready to deliver part of its MiG-29s to Ukraine. The announcement was made firmly by the Polish President, Andrzej Duda, and was confirmed by the spokesman for the office of the President of Poland, Paweł Szrot, noting that "it will not be a large number. It will certainly not be a large number corresponding to the number of tanks" that Poland has already donated to Ukraine for a year. Currently, the Polish Air Force has 29 MiG-29 fighters: 23 are single-seater MiG-29A and 6 are two-seater MiG-29UB.

A Polish Air Force MiG-29A (Photo: Hesja).

This Tuesday, on Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed the delivery of the MiG-29 to Ukraine, noting: "The fighter jets can be delivered to Ukraine within the next four to six weeks". Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller stated today: "Decisions on the transfer of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine are taken by several countries. We already have clear statements of which states will be ", he pointed out, but without specifying any.

Slovakia raises the possible delivery of 13 MiG-29 to Ukraine

In the last few hours, it has already come to the media what would be another country, in addition to Poland, that is willing to deliver MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine. Today the Government of Slovakia met to discuss this issue and announced: "There is a government-wide consensus to send MiGs to Ukraine. Now we are waiting for international negotiations, which need to catch up". This Tuesday, Slovakia's Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď, stated that this country has a compensation offer in the amount of 900 million dollars for the provision of those fighters, which would also include the most modern military equipment in the United States.

A MiG-29AS of the Slovak Air Force (Photo: Hesja).

Naď noted that the 13 MiG-29s that Slovakia could deliver to Ukraine are worth $400 million, including spare parts. "Of that, between 50 and 60 percent would come from the European Fund for Peace, and we also have an offer of state-of-the-art military equipment from the United States of America, a capacity which we lack, where we would get approximately $700 million". Slovakia withdrew the 11 MiG-29 it still had in service in August 2022, and is currently awaiting delivery of the 14 F-16 Block 70 purchased from the US company Lockheed Martin in 2021.

The support of the US and the UK for the delivery of these fighters

Faced with this news, today John Kirby, Pentagon Press Secretary, has noted: "If other countries wanted to send fighter jets to Ukraine, the United States would definitely support it". This announcement marks a 180-degree turn from Kirby's announcement a year ago, as stopped the delivery of Polish MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine claiming it was not "sustainable".

A British Eurofighter Typhoon fighter (Photo: Royal Air Force).

The support of the United States is joined by the support of the United Kingdom. A few days ago, the British government raised possible delivery of Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 1 fighters to allied countries delivering MiG-29s to Ukraine. The Tranche 1 was the first phase of the European fighter, whose production began in 2003 (the version of the Eurofighter that is currently in production is the Tranche 3A). This exchange of fighters could benefit Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria, which are the three NATO member countries that still operate the MiG-29.

A Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 (Photo: Bulgarian Ministry of Defense).

What about the Bulgarian MiG-29s?

Recall that Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov ruled out the delivery of its MiG-29s to Ukraine a year ago: "It would be complete nonsense to deliver them at this time. We have a serious aircraft deficit and very few fighters can fly." At the time, Bulgaria had 14 MiG-29 fighters of which only six were operational. Like Slovakia, the country is waiting to receive F-16 Block 70 fighters, specifically 16 units, the purchase of which was approved by the Bulgarian Parliament in November 2022.

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Main photo: Armyinform. Two MiG-29 of the Ukrainian Air Force.

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