Serbia has received four more MiG-29 fighter jets from Belarus, bringing its fleet to a total of 14, Serbia’s Ministry of Defense said in a Monday, February 25 release.
“These are the four airplanes owned by the state of Serbia, the Ministry of Defense and the Air Force,” Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said at the handover ceremony in Baranavichy in western Belarus.
The aircraft are to be overhauled and modernized in Belarus, a process which began on February 22.
“We think that we will complete the first phase, the repair phase and then the second stage of modernization as soon as possible,” to update the aircraft to fourth-generation level, Vulin added.
The Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is a Russian-designed twin-engine fighter jet aircraft which entered service with the Soviet Union in 1982. It was originally intended as an air superiority fighter, but has also been developed into a multi-role aircraft.
Serbia received four MiG-29s from Belarus in April 2018, and six from Russia in October 2017.
Belarus had said it would hand over over eight MiG-29s and two Buk air defense missile systems on condition that Serbia pays for repairs.
