LAST AIRSHOW APPEARANCE FOR SLOVAK FULCRUMS
The Armed forces of the Slovak Republic announced via a Facebook post that the Slovak International Air Fest (SIAF) 2022 will be the last public appearance for the Slovak Air Force Mig-29 Fulcrums before those are donated to Ukraine.
On the 3rd of July 2022, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced that he will donate twelve MiG-29 fighter aircraft and thirty T-72 tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the deliveries starting in September 2022. From September the Czech Air Force will take over the security of Slovak airspace with their SAAB Gripens. It is also expected that the Polish Air Force F-16s will take over the task from the Czech Gripens until the new Slovak F-16Vs are delivered.
Slovakia owns a total of 14 Fulcrums (3 of which are not modernised and in storage) in the single-seat AS and double-seat UBS variants. This variant features Rockwell Collins navigation and communication systems, a BAE Systems identification friend-of-the-friend (IFF) system, a new glass cockpit with LCD multifunction displays and a new digital mission computer.
These modifications allow the ex-Soviet MiG-29 aircraft to be integrated into NATO’s air command and control structure. 12 out of 21 of the entire MiG-29 fleet were upgraded and had been delivered as of late February 2008. However, their armament was not modernized and still uses the same type of missiles, inherited from when Czechoslovakia was part of the USSR.
These fighters were to remain in active service until they were to be replaced by the 12 new Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70, which would start arriving in Slovakia from 2024.
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 1982. While originally oriented towards combat against any enemy aircraft, many MiG-29s have been furnished as multirole fighters capable of performing a number of different operations, and are commonly outfitted to use a range of air-to-surface armaments and precision munitions. The MiG-29 has been manufactured in several major variants, including the multirole Mikoyan MiG-29M and the navalised Mikoyan MiG-29K; the most advanced member of the family to date is the Mikoyan MiG-35. Later models frequently feature improved engines, glass cockpits with HOTAS-compatible flight controls, modern radar and infrared search and track (IRST) sensors, and considerably increased fuel capacity; some aircraft have also been equipped for aerial refuelling.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the militaries of a number of former Soviet republics have continued to operate the MiG-29, the largest of which is the Russian Air Force. The Russian Air Force wanted to upgrade its existing fleet to the modernised MiG-29SMT configuration, but financial difficulties have limited deliveries. The MiG-29 has also been a popular export aircraft; more than 30 nations either operate or have operated the aircraft to date. As of 2013 the MiG-29 was still in production by Mikoyan, a subsidiary of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) since 2006.
