RSK MiG to convert four aircraft into "multifunctional role" (265 words)

Published: 9/4/2001

According to Serguey Bulyguin, Commander of the Belarusian Air Force, the Baranovichi Aviation Maintenance Plant has started the long expected upgrade of two of the air force's ageing fleet of 65 MiG-29s, as part of a batch of four aircraft. The majority of the MiG-29s were acquired in the 1980s. Bulyguin said that the upgrade is being undertaken in conjunction with RSK MiG and differs from the plant's previous upgrades on the MiG-29. The level of upgrade involved has not been specified in detail, but Bulyguin described it as turning the aircraft into a “multifunctional role”, with the addition of new avionics, navigation systems, increased range and in flight refuelling capability, in addition to ground strike capability. The cooperation between the Belarus and RSK MiG comes after a period of tension between Belarus and both MiG and Sokol, which were highly critical of the Belarus practice of buying aircraft on favourable terms from Russia and then selling them onto third parties such as Algeria, which received MiG-29UBs from Belarus. Until quite recently, MiG has also discretely suggested that MiG-29 upgrades by Belarus were of low quality, and has further hinted that the poor performance of Belarus-supplied MiG-29s to Peru supports this view. The announcement of the deal comes at a time when the air forces of both countries are cooperating more closely. An exercise involving three Belarusian Su-27s in live firing of air-to-air missiles at Privolzhsky air base near Astrakhan started in late August, as part of the CIS exercises Military Community-2001.

Article ID: 2731