Russia delivered a batch of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 combat aircraft to Syria on May 30, 2020, to counter the threat posed by Israel’s F-16 Fighting Falcons.
The MiG-29 fighters, the most advanced versions of the legendary jets, were handed over to the Syrian Arab Air Force at the Hmeimim base in Lattakia.
“In the framework of military and technical cooperation between Russia and Syria, the Russian side handed over the second batch of advanced and modernized MiG-29 fighter jets to Syria, during a ceremony at Hmeimim base. As of June 1, 2020, Syrian pilots will begin to carry out missions on those planes in Syrian airspace,” Syrian news agency SANA quoted a senior military officer as saying.
Russian news agency Avia.Pro claimed that with the MiG-29s in its arsenal, Syrian forces will be able to tackle and even get the better of Israel’s F-16 Fighting Falcons.
According to Avia.Pro the MiG-29s supplied to Syria have better combat capabilities than the F-16s operated by Israel both of which are single-seater jets.
The report also added that while Syrian forces received a massive boost with the induction of MiG-29s, the country may not be able to counter every weapon in Israel’s armory yet.
However, the Russian-made fighters will force the enemy before launching any attack on Syria.
MiG-29, a twin-engine supersonic fighter, is already in service with Russian Aerospace Forces, Indian Air Force (IAF), Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces and Polish Air Force along with several other nations.
Designed and developed during the 1970s, the MiG-29’s primary task was to tackle the threat posed by F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon of the United States of America and its allies.
Over the last couple of decades, the MiG-29 has been upgraded from its aerial combat role into a potent multirole fighter.
Originally published by Anti-Empire
The 21st Century
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