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US F-16 Pilot ‘Heaps Praises’ On MiG-29 Fighter Jets After Dogfight; But Why Is Ukraine Still Keen On F-16s?

The first four Slovakian MiG-29s arrived in Ukraine, marking the first NATO delivery of fighter jets to the war-torn country. However, experts contend these aircraft will still fail to meet Kyiv’s vociferous demands for advanced Western jets like the F-16s.

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s neighboring countries, Poland and Slovakia, pledged the first tranche of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Poland will send four Soviet-made aircraft, while Slovakia will send 13.

However, military veterans argue that the additional MiG-29s would not be a game-changer for Ukraine.

“This is far more symbolic as a gesture than it is actually improving the ability of the Ukrainians to wage war in the air with the Russians,” former British Air Commodore Andrew Curtis was cited as saying by Newsweek.

Notably, the MiG-29 was designed by the Soviet Union to counter the threat from a new generation of American-made fighter jets, which included the F-15 and F-16.

The American F-16As entered operational service in 1979, and only four years later, the Soviet Frontal Aviation units also started receiving their deliveries of MiG-29 Fulcrums.

The MiG-29 posed a fierce threat to Western pilots, and the first F-16 Viper pilots to engage the MiG-29 in mock air combat had showered praises on the Fulcrum.




MiG-29 Fulcrum
File Image: MiG-29 Fulcrum

F-16 Pilots Impressed By MiG-29

The countries that received the MiG-29 fighter jets also included East Germany, and these MiG-29s remained operational even after the German reunification.

The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) used them for national Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) service and as an adversary aircraft during NATO air exercises, where the MiG-29 demonstrated its formidable air-to-air capabilities.

The first Western fighter pilots that had the opportunity to engage with the Fulcrum in mock air combat were from the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) 510th Fighter Squadron (FS) “Buzzards” belonging to the 31st Fighter Wing (FW) from Aviano Air Base in northern Italy.

They flew against Luftwaffe Jagdgeschwader 73 (JG 73) MiG-29s in May 1995 during a German Fulcrum deployment to Decimomannu Air Base, on the southern tip of Sardinia, according to an extensive article written by David Sarvai.

Capt. Mike McCoy, one of the 510th FS F-16 pilots, who faced off with the JG 73 MiG-29s, noted that one of the most impressive features of MiG-29 for the American pilots was its low-speed maneuverability combined with its helmet-mounted sight system.

“In a low-speed fight, fighting the Fulcrum is similar to fighting an F-18 Hornet, but the Fulcrum has a thrust advantage over the Hornet. An F-18 can crank its nose around if you get into a slow-speed fight, but it has to lose altitude to regain the energy, which allows us to get on top of them. The MiG has about the same nose authority at slow speeds, but it can regain energy much faster,” said McCoy.




A Polish Air Force MiG-29 with a USAF F-16. (Wikipedia)

The F/A-18 Hornet is powered by two F404-GE-402 afterburning engines, producing 18,000-pound thrust each, whereas two Izotov R-33D turbofan engines power the Fulcrum with 18,300 pounds of thrust each.

McCoy said, “the MiG pilots have that forty-five-degree cone in front of them into which they can fire an Archer and eat you up.”

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