06.10.2015 source SHD

6 octobre 1860 : sac du palais d’été (Pékin – Chine). Les vainqueurs franco-britanniques de la bataille de Palikao (21 septembre) pillent le palais d’été. L’ordre de l’incendier vient de Lord Elgin. Victor Hugo, alors en exile à Guernesey et donc en délicatesse avec Napoléon III, traitera les Européens de bandits dans une lettre rendue publique.

6 octobre 1918 : entrée à Beyrouth (actuel Liban). Une flotte franco-britannique entre dans le port de Beyrouth évacué par les Turcs. Deux contre-torpilleurs français de l’escadre de Syrie (l’Arbalète et le Coutelas) précèdent les troupes du général Franchet d’Esperey en Palestine.

6 octobre 1949 : loi américaine d’ « aide militaire pour la défense mutuelle ». Signée par Truman, cette loi porte uniquement sur l’aide militaire afin de ne pas donner raison à la propagande soviétique qui présente le plan Marshall (1947-1951) comme une machine de guerre américaine offerte aux Européens. La France a reçu environ 20  % des 10 milliards de dollars d’aide américaine.

6 octobre 1973 : début de la guerre du Kippour (Israël). L'Egypte et la Syrie, appuyées par une coalition arabe, attaquent par surprise Israël qui finit par l'emporter.

6 octobre 1977 : premier vol du Mig 29. Chasseur russe bi-supersonique baptisé Fulcrum par les américains. Grande maniabilité en vol et rusticité d’emploi. Toujours en service dans une dizaine de pays.

6 octobre 1981 : assassinat du président Sadate (Le Caire). Lors d'un défilé militaire, un groupe d'officiers proches des frères musulmans tire sur le président égyptien et le tue ainsi que 6 autres dignitaires présents dans les tribunes.

6 octobre 1986 : le K219 coule au large des Bermudes. Le sous-marin nucléaire soviétique K219 est victime d'un incendie qui l'oblige à faire surface. 4 hommes d'équipage périssent pour stopper le réacteur nucléaire menaçant d'entrer en fusion, avant que le bâtiment ne sombre par 5000 mètres de fond avec 32 missiles nucléaires à son bord.

September 26, 2015: Strategy Page

Bulgaria has hired a Polish firm to upgrade six of their MiG-29 fighters. Poland was selected because in 2014 Poland completed upgrades required to make their own MiG-29s compatible with NATO standards. This was necessary because Poland is now a member of NATO and could not afford to replace its MiG-29s with Western fighters. Poland has the largest fleet of MiG-29s in NATO (32 operational) and other East European nations that recently joined NATO are in a similar situation.

The Poles didn’t do it all themselves but figured out who the most effective partners would be. Thus a Polish firm worked with an Israeli company to make the MiG-29 electronics compatible with NATO equipment. Mechanical controls were replaced with electronic (“fly by wire”) ones. This involved a much more efficient cockpit and some amenities which make life much easier for pilots. All this gave the MiG-29 electronics similar to those in the 48 F-16s Poland has purchased.

The Bulgarian upgrades are less about new electronics and more about keeping the Bulgarian MiG-29s flyable. This being done despite protests from Russia who insist it is illegal for anyone but the Russian manufacturer to perform such upgrades and refurbishment. But the Russians want a lot more money for the work than Polish, or even Western European firms can do it for. Moreover the current Russian hostility towards NATO does not make Russia a reliable source of such services.

Bulgaria has to be careful with what it spends on military equipment because the country was never rich to begin with. After Bulgaria broke free from communist (and Russian dominated) government in 1989 it turned to the West for help. Reforms (and reducing the chronic corruption) took time. Thus it wasn’t until 2009 that Bulgaria was able to resume training new MiG-29 pilots. Such training had stopped, for budgetary reasons, in the late 1990s. Throughout the 1990s, and until 2004, Bulgaria was busy disbanding its Cold War era air force of 226 aircraft. By 2009 all they had left was 18 MiG-29s (which needed upgrades to meet NATO standards), some Su-25s (for ground attack), a few MiG-21s (on their way out), some Su-22s (used for reconnaissance) and a few dozen transports and helicopters. One by one, most air bases were shut down, and the Russian made aircraft (most of them obsolete) sold for scrap.

Western aircraft are being bought, but the MiG-29s are being kept because they are competitive with Western fighters. That is important because East European nations found that Western warplanes were too expensive. Meanwhile by 2009 the existing MiG-29 pilots were getting old and many of them had already left for more lucrative commercial flying job. Thus the need for another dozen MiG-29 pilots. That training was completed by 2010.

In late 2011 Bulgaria announced that it would postpone a decision on the purchase of a new multi-role jet fighter until at least 2012. Bulgaria originally committed itself to buying a NATO-type fighter as part of its alliance integration process. However, the economic recession cut into procurement funds and that situation never got better. Soon plans for buying Western warplanes was dropped as well. Then the Poles showed it was possible to upgrade MiG-29s on an East European budget.

Mar 2015 By: Greg Waldron - FG

Langkawi - A unit of Malaysian maintenance, repair and overhaul firm Airod has proposed an upgrade programme for Malaysia’s fleet of 10 RAC MiG-29 aircraft.

The upgrade, which an industry source says is being considered by the air force, would see the type upgraded to what it refers to as the “MiG-29NM” standard.

It is not clear how receptive Kuala Lumpur will be to the proposal. For several years major international fighter makers have vied for the Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) requirement, which will lead to the MiG-29s being replaced with 18 newer types. Still, the government has yet to issue a request for proposals for MRCA, and funding remains a challenge.

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13 Aug 2014 By: Arie Egozi - FG

Deliveries of upgraded RAC MiG-29s to the Polish air force are continuing, and negotiations for a second batch may begin soon.

The upgrade is being performed by Poland's WZL-2 Military Aviation Works, and is based on a design and systems supplied by Israel Aerospace Industries. The modernisation package includes new avionics, cockpit instruments and an advanced debriefing system.

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MOSCOU, 4 mars - RIA Novosti

Plusieurs chasseurs polyvalents de 4e génération MiG-29 ont renforcé la base aérienne russe d'Erebouni, en Arménie, a annoncé mardi le porte-parole de la région militaire russe du Sud Igor Gorboul.

"Plusieurs chasseurs multirôles de 4e génération MiG-29 sont arrivés à la base aérienne russe d'Erebouni de la région militaire du Sud après réparations. A présent, la base aérienne s'apprête à mettre les avions en service opérationnel", a indiqué le colonel Gorboul.

Selon le porte-parole, les pilotes de MiG-29 ont effectué plus de 50 combats d'entraînement depuis le début de l'année.

Le chasseur soviétique et russe MiG-29 est destiné à mener des combats aériens et à détruire des cibles terrestres en utilisant des armes de précision, ainsi qu'à surmonter la défense antiaérienne par tous les temps, de jour comme de nuit.

May 28, 2013: Strategy Page

Hungary has been trying to sell of its fleet of 24 MiG-29s for the last two years, without much success. Now it will try auctioning them off, along with 21 replacement engines, for a minimum price of $43 million. Bids must arrive by June 14th and if no one offers the minimum it will try again with an even lower price. An earlier effort to find a buyer went nowhere and the obstacle was believed to be price. At less than $2 million each the MiGs appear to be a real bargain. Appearances can be deceiving.

Hungary received 28 MiG-29s in 1993, in payment of $800 million Russia owned Hungary. That came out to about $29 million per aircraft, each with about 14 years of service left in them. But Hungary found the aircraft expensive to maintain. Despite that, half of them were refurbished to extend their service life. In the meantime, two aircraft crashed, and now those that were not refurbished are being cannibalized for spare parts. Hungary has taken its MiG-29s out of service and bought Swedish Gripens. This is a superior fighter and easier and cheaper to operate.

But not everyone is fed up with the MiG-29. Although many nations (Algeria, Hungary, Malaysia, Lebanon) are refusing, or retiring, MiG-29s, Syria has been eager to get them. That's because Syria is broke, and patron Iran is becoming less generous (because of its own economic problems, including more sanctions) with subsidies for military equipment. In 2010 Russia announced that it was selling another 24 (or more) MiG-29s to Syria (which already has about fifty of them). Syria would also like to get its existing MiG-29s upgraded, but may not be able to afford that. That sale and upgrades are on hold until the current civil war in Syria is over.

Other nations are backing away from MiG-29s because of reliability and durability problems. Several times in the last year, Russia has had MiG-29s grounded because of crashes, and suspicion that there might be some kind of fundamental design flaw. All aircraft were eventually returned to flight status. This has not helped sales, and most export customers prefer the larger Su-27 (and its derivatives like the Su-30).

The MiG-29 entered Russian service in 1983, as the answer to the American F-16. Some 1,600 MiG-29s have been produced so far, with most (about 900) exported. The biggest customer, India, received its first MiG-29s in 1986, with deliveries continuing into the 1990s. The 22 ton aircraft is, indeed, roughly comparable to the F-16, but it depends a lot on which version of either aircraft you are talking about. Then there are the notorious reliability problems. Compared to Western aircraft, like the F-16, the MiG-29 is available for action about two thirds as often.