By 2025, all types of combat aircraft of the Air Force of Ukraine must be modernized

 

 

By 2025, modernization of all types of combat aircraft in service with the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is envisaged.

This information was announced by the State Research Institute for Testing and Certification of weapons, reports with reference to UMP.

The flax test staff of the Institute will perform flights on modernized Su-24MR (M), Su-25, MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft as part of research and development work.

In Ukraine, research and development work on the modernization of MiG-29MU2 fighters has been going on for several years.

The MiG-29MU2 aircraft is equipped with VOR, ILS, DME systems - on-board equipment that will allow to automatically control the landing of the aircraft and perform flights on international routes.

Thanks to the modernization of the MiG-29MU2, it is possible to install missile and bomb weapons with X-29T air-to-surface and KAB-500KR television warheads, the tests of which were reported in September 2020.
MiG-29MU2 with corrected aviation bombs KAB-500KR with a homing TV head. April 29, 2020 Povursk airfield / Photo: Serhiy Kobernyk

Corrected KAB-500KR aerial bombs with a homing television head and X-29T missiles were tested for ground training purposes at the Povursk airfield in the Kovel district.

In May 2019, it became known that on the basis of the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant starting in 2020 it is planned to begin work on the modernization of MiG aircraft with the participation of foreign partners. In August 2020, it became known that such a partner would be the Israeli company Elbit Systems.
MiG-29 with X-29 missile

According to the agreements, it will modernize the Ukrainian MiG-29 for $ 40 million per unit, while it is a question of modernizing the party of 11 fighters of the Air Force of the Armed Forces.

As for other combat aircraft - Su-24M (MR), Su-25 and Su-27, it is known about the work on the reconnaissance aircraft Su-24MR, which is carried out by the State Enterprise "Odessa Aviation Plant".
Photo: Sergey Smolentsev

At the same time, the Vision of the Air Force of Ukraine envisages the replacement of the entire fleet of Soviet warplanes with one unified one of Western production.

As a priority during 2023-2025, the Air Force Command considers it expedient to purchase up to 6-12 units of a new type of aircraft to study its characteristics, forms and methods of application, organize a system of retraining aviation personnel and improve ground infrastructure.

However, as of February 2021, the purchase of new fighters for the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces was not included in the draft documents of the Defense Order Planning.

We are talking about the medium and long term in accordance with the indicative indicators of the defense order.

Now the Command is waiting for the state's decision to purchase new fighters to replace the existing Soviet-style aircraft fleet.

The Commander of the Air Force, Colonel-General Sergei Drozdov, advocated a single type of multi-role fighter, which would later replace all types of Soviet-style combat aircraft: fighters, attack aircraft, bombers.

As an option for rearmament, he cited the example of Poland, which initially purchased a number of multi-role F-16 fighters and later gradually rearmed.