POLISH AIR FORCE MIG-29S HAVE STARTED LEAVING MINSK MAZOWIECKI AIR BASE
An era is coming to an end in the 23rd Tactical Air Base the home of the Fulcrum Solo Display which used to be one of the most popular fast jet solo displays in Europe.
After 3 decades, MiG-29s are leaving the 23rd Tactical Air Base in Mińsk Mazowiecki and permanently relocating to the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork. The Mig’s will be replaced by the South Korean KAI F/A-50PL Fighting Eagle first of which are due to arrive in Poland as early as mid-2023. In total 48 Fighting Eagles will arrive in Poland by 2026 and replace the 26 Soviet-era Fulcrums.
In Malbork, the MiG’s which still have a long service life will support the national combat duty up until 2028 when they will be replaced by more modern aircraft. It is unknown at this time if the Fulcrums Drivers Demo Team from Malbork will resume display flying or if the days of the mighty smokers at airshows are gone.
Fulcrum Solo Display at Airpower16
The Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Sukhoi Su-27, was developed to counter new U.S. fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The MiG-29 entered service with the Soviet Air Forces in 1983.
The first 12 MiG-29s delivered to Poland were nine MiG-29As and three MiG-29UBs in 1989–1990. The aircraft were based at Mińsk Mazowiecki and used by the 1st Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was reorganized in 2001 as 1 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego (1. elt), or 1st Tactical Squadron (TS). In 1995–1996, 10 used examples were acquired from the Czech Republic (nine MiG-29As, and one MiG-29UB). After the retirement of its MiG-23s in 1999, and MiG-21s in 2004, Poland was left for a time with only these 22 MiG-29s in the interceptor role.
Of the 22 MiG-29s Poland received from the German Air Force in 2004, a total of 14 were overhauled and taken into service. They were used to equip the 41st Tactical Squadron (41. elt), replacing its MiG-21s. As of 2008, Poland it the biggest NATO MiG-29 user. They are stationed with the 1st Tactical Squadron at the 23rd Air Base near Mińsk Mazowiecki and the 41st TS at the 22nd Air Base near Malbork.
There have been unconfirmed reports that Poland has at one point leased a MiG-29 from its own inventory to Israel for evaluation and the aircraft has since been returned to Poland, as suggested by photographs of a MiG-29 in Israeli use. Three Polish MiG-29As were reported in Israel for evaluation between April and May 1997 in the Negev desert. On 7 September 2011, the Polish Air Force awarded a contract to the WZL 2 company to modernise its MiG-29 fleet to be compatible with Polish F-16s.
Polish Air Force Mig-29A at the Royal International Air Tattoo
Four MiG-29s from 1. elt participated in the Baltic Air Policing mission in 2006, while 41. elt aircraft did so in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Polish MiG-29s played the aggressor role in the NATO Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) joint training program in Albacete in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
On 18 December 2017, a MiG-29 crash-landed in a forest near the 23rd Air Base while performing a landing approach. The pilot did not eject but survived the crash with minor injuries. This was the first crash of a MiG-29 during its nearly three-decades-long operational history in the Polish Air Force. On 6 July 2018, another MiG-29 crashed near Pasłęk, with its pilot dying in an ejection attempt. Technical issues were suspected to have played a role in the crash. Another crash followed on 4 March 2019. This time the pilot ejected and survived.
Following the series of crashes and incidents involving the Polish Mig’s both the Fulcrum Solo Display Team from the 23rd Tactical Air Base in Mińsk Mazowiecki and the Fulcrum Drivers Demo Team from the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork have not performed a single display since summer of 2018. The Last time a Polish MiG-29 performed a solo Display was on the Sunday 10th of June 2018 during the RAF Cosford Airshow in the UK since then smoker fans could only see the Polish Migs fly only twice at the airshows, firstly during the Gdynia Aerobaltic Airshow 2021 where a pair of on-duty Migs performed flypast and go-arounds on the way back from the combat air patrol over the Baltic sea and secondly at the Motril Airshow 2022 in Spain where a single MiG from Malbork performed a series of flypasts.
