Ukraine to Modernize MiG-29 Warplane

Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS

Lviv, 28 August: The principal fighter of the Ukrainian armed forces, MiG-29, will be modernized, Ukrainian Defence Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko stated on Tuesday [28 August], delivering a speech at the Lvov State Aircraft Repair Plant. “Modernization of the MiG-29 and its perfection are a very difficult technical and organization task,” he told a briefing there.

“One plant alone cannot cope with it. Therefore, I shall today hold a meeting behind closed doors with representatives from the designing offices of Kiev, Smila, Khmelnytskyy and Lviv,” Hrytsenko stated. “Dozens of enterprises will take part in the work to modernize the fighter. There are also problems, which we have to settle with the main designer of the plane – the Russian Federation,” he added.

The minister did not indicate the exact date when a modernized MiG-29 will make its maiden flight. He merely noted that “the cost of the modernization project, taking into account the number of the available planes, will run into hundreds of millions of hryvnyas. There are no such funds in the budget today and, therefore, the job may take many years. However, it will result not only in the enhancement of the combat capacity of the Ukrainian armed forces, but also in the new technologies mastered by our enterprises and in thousands of additional workplaces.”

Originally published by ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1113 28 Aug 07.

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