Slovakia looking again at Mig-29 Upgrades

Date Posted: 27-Nov-2003

JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – DECEMBER 03, 2003

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Slovakia looks again at MiG-29 upgrade
Jiri Kominek JDW Correspondent,
Prague

The Slovak Ministry of Defence (MoD) is again leaning towards modernising a number of MiG-29 fighters.

Juraj Liska, recently appointed defence minister, said on 20 November that he had established a special committee to draw up a plan within two weeks on modernising the aircraft.

His statement came as a surprise, since in early November he said that modernising the MiG-29 fleet would be ineffective (Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 November).

The MoD is now looking at modernising between eight and 10 MiG-29s, with an additional two upgraded aircraft to be kept in reserve. The work would extend the service life of the aircraft by up to 10 years.

Liska said the MiG-29s will reach the end of their service life by mid-2004 and need to be modernised if Slovakia is to be able to defend its own airspace.

The special committee is studying how to finance the planned modernisation. One consideration is using funds from a debt owed to Slovakia by Russia dating back to before 1989. About Kcs1.6 billion ($46.6 million) of the debt has been allocated to the MoD.

The air force also desperately needs to upgrade its fleet of Russian-built Mi-8/-17 medium transport helicopters, as well as its fleet of Mi-24 attack helicopters, which are approaching the end of their operational life.

The service also has a pressing need for a heavy transport capability, Liska said. Slovakia has no heavy transport aircraft and must rely on chartered private carriers from Russia or Ukraine to transport personnel and equipment to overseas peace support missions, such as those in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo.