DAAFAR, Cuban Air Force 2004

Order of Battle

Base Aerea San Antonio de los Baños

Photo taken on January 9th 2004
Mig-29 at a shelter in San Antonio de los Baños
UM 1779 Regimiento de Caza
UM ???? Escuadrón de Caza Mixta
2 MiG-29 FAR 910, 911
1 MiG-29UB FAR 900
8 MiG-23MF/ML
2 MiG-23UB
2 o 3 MiG-21UM
2 L-39
Also some Mi-17 helicopters and Mi-24D.

Base Aerea Holguin

photo taken January 19th 2004

UM 1724 Regimiento de Intercepcion
UM ???? Escuadrón de Caza
8 MiG-23ML
2 MiG-23UB
3 MiG-21UM
2 L-39C
2 0 3 Mi-17 helicopters

Cuidad Libertad en La Habana

Photo taken by Bernardo Zarallo at Cuidad Libertad 2001
Here the Daafar has a mechanics school called Yuri Gagarin
1 MiG-23ML FAR 232
1 MiG-23BN FAR 714
1 MiG-21BIS
1 L-39C FAR 12
1 Mi-17 FAR 103

I will keep on posting updates on the Cuban Air force
thanks Luis

A litlle more on the Cuban Mig-29
The FAR purchased 4 MiG-29A Fulcrum A (series 9-12B) and 2 MiG-29UB Fulcrum B (series 9-51), Cuba had plan to get up to 40 MiG-29, enough to equip a regiment. These MiG-29 arrived in October 1989 to San Antonio de los Baños where they serve with UM 1779 Regiment.
The first flight was done on a MiG-29UB serial FAR-900 on April 19th 1990 by a soviet test pilot.
Today only 2 MiG-29A probably serial FAR 910, 911 and 1 MiG-29UB serial FAR 900 remain active, the other 2 MiG-29A are being used as spare source or stored in shelters at San Antonio. The MiG-29UB serial 901 is at the DAAFAR museum. The MiG-29UB were given the serial numbers FAR-900 and FAR-901. The MiG-29A serials are FAR 910-913.

Operations: The first operational training was done in May 1990 called Cuban Shield. This squadron maintains an elite status by the FAR, were pilot may fly between 40-50 annually.
On February 24th 1996 a MiG-29UB serial FAR 900 was used together with a MiG-23ML to shoot down two Cessna 337of The Brothers to the Rescue. The MiG-23ML FAR 213 was used as a radio relay airplane and the MiG-29UB fired two AA-8 Aphid (R-60M) to shoot down both planes.
The MiG-29UB was chosen because it is the best slow flying fighter in the Cuban inventory, but before the undertaking, the DAAFAR chose carefully the best pilots, with combat experience in Angola and had them trained flying against a Polish-built PZL-104 Wilga, flown by a Cuban civilian pilot named Adolfo Perez Pantoja out of Jose Marti Airport. Cuba has added two red stars to the MiG-29UB serial FAR 900 as victories obtained during combat.

The MiG-29UB pilot was Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Alberto Perez Perez, veteran of 74 combat missions; his total flight experience was more than 1,000 hours, 500 of them in MiG-29 aircraft. He had been a MIG aircraft pilot for 19 years and had taken part in three international missions. His back seat was his twin brother Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Perez Perez, his total flight experience was more than 1,800 hours. He had been flying for 26 years and had taken part in international missions, including 30 combat missions. They graduated as MiG-21 pilots in the Soviet Union in 1975, spending most of their carrier at the San Antonio de los Baños Air Base and are members of the Communist party. They were 44 years of age.
Major Emilio Palacios flew the MiG-23ML, his total flight experience was more than 800 hours. He had been a MIG aircraft pilot for 15 years and had taken part in two international missions, which included some combat missions. Emilio was 35 years of age, graduating as a MiG-21 pilot in the Soviet Union in 1982. From then on he was based at Santa Clara Air Base, moving to San Antonio de los Baños in 1988, he is also a member of the Communist party.

at San Antonio de los Baños Air Base.
In 1994 the commander of the squadron was Lt Colonel Libre Quintero.
Other MiG-29 pilots in 1994: Major Fidel Guzman, Jose Rodriguez Leal and Juan Carlos Chávez Godoy
Cuban MiG-29’s

Serial Code Type CN Unit Status First Last Comment
900 MiG-29UB UM 1779 San Antonio active oct89 Feb96 Brothers OP
901 MiG-29UB N50903014717 Havana Museo d pre oct89 oct03 Photo
910 MiG-29A UM 1779 San Antonio Active oct89 1996 Photo
911 MiG-29A UM 1779 San Antonio Active oct89 1996 Photo
912 MiG-29A UM 1779 San Antonio Active oct89
913 MiG-29A UM 1779 San Antonio reserve oct89

Cuban MiG-29UB serial FAR 900, this is the plane that was used in the shoot down of this two planes.

Here is another picture of the pilots that participated in the “Brothers to the Rescue” shoot down. From left to right Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Perez Perez, Major Emilio Palacios, Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Alberto Perez Perez
Cessna 337of The Brothers to the Rescue
Cuban MiG-29 in a shelter at San Antonio de los Baños
Let’s not forget the four that were killed in this incident.

I have allot more to come, thanks Luis

Hello
This is my first post in this forum, but since I’m Cuban I can tell that the idea was to get about 40 Mig-29. Cuba only received 4 Mig-29A serial FAR 910-913, and 2 MiG-29UB serials FAR 900, 901.
Today only two MiG-29A serial FAR 910, 911 remain active, with only one MiG-29UB serial 900, by the way that MiG-29 has two star painted on the side, since they consider those two Brothers to Rescue planes as victories.
I wonder how the result would have been if they had come up against real fighter planes like the F-15 or F-16 based at Homestead, Florida.
The other Mig-29UB serial FAR 901 now is at the DAAFAR Museum in Havana province.
I my self would like to see more pictures of Cuban planes, and I have been told of a Russian publication called Air Fleet, that has pictures of Cuban Mig-29. If any body knows how I can get a hold of them, please let me know.
Thanks Luis