On the official website of the Lviv State Aviation Repair Plant (LHARZ, part of Ukroboronprom), a statement appeared that the company was having difficulty repairing and modernizing MiG-29 light fighters due to Kiev’s anti-Russian sanctions and the breakdown of military-technical cooperation with RF.
In particular, the company referred to Decree of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko No. 176/2018 on the execution of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) “On the application and introduction of changes to personal economic and other restrictive measures”.
According to the document, in June 2018, Kiev replenished the sanctions list and imposed restrictions against 14 individuals and 30 legal entities of the Russian Federation, including enterprises of the military-industrial complex (DIC). In this regard, LHARZ lost the opportunity to legally acquire the necessary products in Russia.
“In the process of implementing the contract with the Ministry of Defense (Ukraine. - RT ), the company was forced to adhere to the norms of the law. What does it mean? The plant was supposed to modernize the aircraft in the absence of spare parts, since the above decision of the National Security and Defense Council resulted in restrictions on their purchase, ”the aircraft plant said.
- President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in the cockpit of a MiG-29 fighter
- RIA News
- © Mikhail Markiv
According to the RT source in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the MiG-29 are the main combat aircraft of the Ukrainian army. In this regard, the Ukrainian Air Force has an urgent need to update them.
“The fighter’s weak point is airborne radar equipment, which was supplied from Russia. Replace it because of the existing sanctions is virtually impossible. Therefore, any “modernization” that is announced with a pomp is conditional, ”the interlocutor of the RT in the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated.
Inexpensive upgrade
The contract for the repair and modernization of the MiG-29 Air Force of Ukraine, involving the replacement of obsolete systems and units, was concluded in March 2018. But LHARZ could not fulfill its obligations. In response, the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Western region of Ukraine filed a lawsuit against the company in the Economic Court of Kiev in the amount of 7 million hryvnia.
Lviv Aviation Plant refuses to pay a fine, insisting that the enterprise acted "in the face of force majeure circumstances." However, on June 11, 2019, the court partially satisfied the claim of the prosecutor's office and decided to recover from LHARZ 2.9 million hryvnia.
It is noteworthy that on the website of the Lviv plant in the section "About Us" there is information that the production and technical base and personnel of the enterprise allow "quality and fast" to repair the MiG-29. And supposedly all the work on this fighter are performed in strict accordance with the requirements of the technical documentation of KB them. Mikoyan.
Meanwhile, in the RAC "MiG" hold a different point of view. On June 17, in an interview with RIA Novosti, the general director of the corporation, Ilya Tarasenko, said that Ukraine is not capable of modernizing the fighters in a quality manner, since it does not have “relevant documentation”. Attempts by the Lviv plant to upgrade the MiG-29 were described by the top manager as illegitimate.
“I can say that Ukraine is really trying to modernize MiG airplanes at its plants, but it does this illegitimately, without having up-to-date technical documentation. This directly affects not only the quality, but also the safety of airplanes ... Once again I stress: the only legitimate way to modernize MiG aircraft is to work directly by the developer, our corporation, ”Tarasenko said.
He also said that RSK MiG had already received appeals from foreign countries because of the poor-quality work on the Soviet fighter jets, which were conducted by Ukraine.
So, in early 2018, a dispute arose between Kiev and Zagreb over a contract for the repair of MiG-21bis fighter aircraft of the Croatian Air Force. Not only did Ukraine derail the delivery time of 12 aircraft, it installed defective radio-electronic equipment on them. In particular, the radar, identification systems and fuel systems were in poor condition.
- Takeoff fighter APU
- © Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
However, Kiev did not admit guilt - Ukrspetsexport (an analogue of Rosoboronexport) stated that Ukrainian enterprises have the necessary experience in the overhaul of aviation equipment. Moreover, the company pointed out that Croatia does not have the right to conclude contracts with Russian partners because of sanctions, although NATO’s restrictive measures against the Russian Federation do not apply to the repair of military equipment and the purchase of spare parts.
In an interview with RT, the columnist for Arsenal of the Fatherland, Dmitry Drozdenko, supported the official position of RSK MiG.
According to him, only a Russian corporation can be a source of licensed and high-quality spare parts.
“Any other units and systems installed on MiG aircraft are, in fact, counterfeit, that is, fake. They are definitely worse than the original. Ukraine suffered from an irrepressible desire to annoy Russia: it imposed sanctions, broke off cooperation, and now does not know how to modernize these fighters. Kiev, of course, can buy spare parts in third countries, but the safety of operating such aircraft will be a very big question, ”Drozdenko explained.
"Write off all these planes"
According to Ukrainian media, there are about 45 MiG-29s in the MU and MU1 modifications in the country's Air Force park. The plans of the Lviv Aviation Plant to modernize the fleet of fighters to the version of "MU2". The aircraft should be able to use air-to-surface guided missiles and adjustable bombs.
The company intends to improve the 20PM weapons management system, install the Kurs-93M navigation and landing complex, replace the RSBN A-323 navigation system. Also, the aircraft must receive means of electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare.
Modernization should be carried out taking into account the combat experience acquired in the "anti-terrorist operation." During the period of the ATO Air Force of Ukraine, two MiG-29s were lost. Lviv Aviation Plant expects to transform the machine into a kind of hybrid fighter and attack aircraft and plans to present it to the public in 2019.
Dmitry Drozdenko considers the initiative of the plant to be unrealizable. He drew attention to the inadequate combat load of the MiG-29 (slightly more than 2 tons) and the weak security of the aircraft. According to him, the brainchild of the Mikoyan Design Bureau was created for completely different tasks.
“The attack aircraft must be able to operate at low altitudes and at low speeds, while maintaining shelling from the ground. This is a rather cumbersome, but well-protected machine. The MiG-29, on the contrary, is very manoeuvrable, since it is intended to gain air supremacy. Create some kind of hybrid impossible. Fighter and attack aircraft are fundamentally different types of aircraft, ”explained Drozdenko.
Sources of RT in the parliamentary parties of Ukraine insist on the need for the withdrawal of the MiG-29 from the composition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to them, the Lviv plant is not able to radically upgrade Soviet cars, and therefore Ukraine must acquire fighters abroad.
“It is necessary to write off all these planes. If Ukraine is so eager to get closer to the standards of NATO, then it is not necessary to change military ranks, but to negotiate with the United States about the purchase of F-15 and F-16 aircraft. As far as I know, they can even be purchased on credit. But, apparently, the Americans are not yet ready to transfer weapons to Ukraine. They may fear that the aircraft will be taken apart and sold, ”said the representative of the Popular Front.
- Military aircraft of Ukraine at the airport
- © General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
A source in the Batkivshchyna party called the statements about the readiness to modernize the MiG-29 “advertisement”, because without Russian spare parts it is impossible to carry out “serious repairs”. In this case, the source RT believes that the Soviet fighters do not represent the real fighting force.
The chief designer of KB-602 of the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) Dmitry Dyakonov said in an interview with RT that Ukraine is deprived of the resources to carry out the modernization and quality repair of the MiG-29. Anti-Russian sanctions, as the expert noted, blocked the supply of vital systems, parts and components.
“Even for the simplest repair of the MiG-29, a mass supply of various products is necessary. Some of them can be replaced, and some - not. This applies even to such elementary parts as power bolts, which are used for fastening aircraft structures. Ukraine does not manufacture them, and in Russia it cannot order, ”Dyakonov explained.
According to the expert, Ukraine is forced to “experiment” with the MiG-29 due to the lack of financial resources. At the same time, Kiev realizes that the West is not going to provide free aid to the country's Air Force.
“The Lviv plant seeks to revise the laws of aerodynamics, hoping to convert the MiG-29 into an attack aircraft. All these experiments are from poverty. Under the slogans of modernization, Kiev is trying to extend the resource of combat aviation. Meanwhile, in the US and the EU are not in a hurry to somehow help Kiev. Delivery of Western aircraft, in my opinion, is impossible. Ukraine will not be given anything for free, and there is nothing to pay the neighboring country for now, ”concluded the Deacons.