Warsaw has officially confirmed negotiations with Kyiv on the potential sale of MiG-29 fighter jets. In a statement, Poland’s General Staff said this became possible because the aircraft have “reached their designated service life limits and have no prospects for further modernization within the Polish Armed Forces.”
Importantly, this would not be a donation but either a sale or a barter arrangement. Polish officials have stated that, as compensation, they expect to receive “certain technologies in the field of unmanned systems and missiles.”
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From a Defense Express perspective, these fighters have been under discussion for quite some time. Poland transferred its first batch of MiG-29s to Ukraine in April 2023. According to available information, that transfer involved 14 aircraft. At the time, another 14 MiG-29s remained in service with the Polish Air Force, though in a somewhat different configuration.
The MiG-29s previously transferred to Ukraine came from the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork. These aircraft were acquired in the 1990s from the Czech Republic and Germany and had not undergone significant upgrades or modernization. In fact, Poland had been considering retiring them as early as 2012.
The fighters currently under discussion are based at the 23rd Tactical Air Base in Mińsk Mazowiecki. According to available data, this fleet includes 11 single-seat and three two-seat MiG-29s. These aircraft underwent upgrades between 2011 and 2014 at Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 2.
As part of this modernization, the fighters received onboard computers and multifunction cockpit displays, along with new navigation and communications systems. In terms of overall upgrade level, they are generally considered comparable to Slovakia’s MiG-29AS fighters, which were also transferred to Ukraine as military aid in 2023.
It is also worth noting that Israeli companies were involved in the modernization of the Polish aircraft. However, if Warsaw is indeed negotiating the sale of these fighters, this issue has likely been coordinated with Israel, which has previously restricted the export and re-export of its military technologies to Ukraine.
It should be emphasized that frequent references to Polish MiG-29s being “modernized to NATO standards” do not mean that they are integrated with Western missiles or weapons. In this context, “NATO standards” primarily refers to compatible communication, navigation, and related systems.
Accordingly, these aircraft should not be expected to carry new types of armament or be employed in a fundamentally different way from the MiG-29s already in service with the Ukrainian Air Force. Instead, these additional fighters would be able to perform the same missions with comparable effectiveness.
As for their technical condition, available information suggests that Poland initially planned to operate these aircraft until 2026. The official wording that the fighters have reached their “designated service life limits” indicates that they likely have minimal remaining flight hours and may require maintenance or repairs before entering service in Ukraine.
In this regard, it is worth recalling that of the 13 Slovak MiG-29AS fighters transferred to Ukraine, only four were able to fly to Ukraine under their own power. The remaining nine had to be dismantled and transported across the border by truck.
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