Their Air Force partly destroyed on January 24, 2022 then abused during a year of war (the total losses would be 17 Mig-29 and 37 other fighters), the Ukrainians are demanding deliveries of combat aircraft. they should therefore have a reinforcement of around twenty old-generation aircraft, hoping for better… Indeed Kiev does not despair of being equipped with F-16s but Washington is reluctant to give the green light (on this subject, will read a very recent report from the American CRS).
Even if the Soviet-made Mig-29s are outclassed by some Russian fighters and even if their range is reduced, these fighters will boost Ukrainian offensive power. Not by their number but by their new capacities.
Indeed, the Ukrainians can now fire Western “smart munitions” which they have managed to adapt to their Soviet-made Mig-29 fighter-bombers.
The United States has already delivered AGM-88 HARM (High-speed, Anti-Radiation Missiles) anti-radar missiles to Ukraine, now suitable for Ukrainian MiGs.
More recently they have started firing JDAM bombs. A first shooting would have taken place on March 6. A JDAM bomb, for Joint Direct Attack Munition, is a GPS-guided bomb. A guidance kit converts conventional unguided bombs into “smart” weapons.
On March 7, the head of US air forces in Europe, James Hecker, confirmed the adoption of such armaments by Ukraine: “It is a recent capability that we have been able to give them probably in the last three weeks” .
Source: Lignesde Defense
