The MiG-29 is internationally recognised as a high-performance combat aircraft, and has often been compared to the USAF F-16. Photo from Airforce TechnologyFrom The Times Of India:
MOSCOW: Ninety of Russia's MiG-29 fighter jets have been rejected by military inspectors during checks after a crash last December, an air force
spokesman said on Friday, quoted by Interfax.
"So far from the overall fleet of MiG-29s, about 200 planes have been examined, of which 100 have been permitted to fly. About 90 MiG-29s have been withdrawn from flying," said Colonel Vladimir Drik.
He added that checks were continuing on the rest of the MiG-29 fleet and that faulty planes would be repaired and put back in service as funds became available. Interfax estimated Russia's total number of MiG-29s at 300.
Russia suspended MiG-29 flights in December when one of the jets crashed in Siberia, killing its pilot.
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My Comment: The key phrase in this news article is the following:
faulty planes would be repaired and put back in service as funds became available.
Translated .... they do not have the funds to repair their planes.
This morning's big news was the possibility that Russia will install some of their bombers in Venezuela and Cuba. Hmmmm .... I am skeptical for the simple reason that they cannot even keep their basic jet fighters operational on their home front.
The Russian Airforce is just a shell of what it once was. Their pilots do not have the training. The equipment is old. The infrastructure needs to be completely upgraded.
The logistics and infrastructure to maintain even a skeleton of a bomber fleet in the Latin Hemisphere is years away from now .... and even then.
This is all theatrics and positioning for next months U.S. Russian talks on U.S. missile defense in Europe, and for Russian public consumption.
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