Poland Asks Germany Permission to Transfer Former East German MiG-29s to Ukraine
Poland confirmed the delivery of the first batch of its MiG-29s to the Ukrainian air force earlier this month. Now they have issued a formal request to the German government for permission to transfer MiG-29s originally acquired from East Germany. Over the last five months Poland has been calling for the transfer of fighter aircraft to Ukraine, originally raising the idea of providing its MiG-29s last year. In mid-March the head of the Polish prime minister’s office, Mateusz Morawiecki, stated that Poland was ready to transfer its fighter jets to its Eastern neighbor within 4 to 6 weeks.
In an interview with RMF FM presidential aide Marcin Przydacz confirmed the first aircraft have been transferred. Przydacz told the Polish radio station in an interview that “a few MiG-29s have already been sent. They are indeed helpful to Ukraine in its defense of our collective security”.
Since day one of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Poland has continued the deliveries of a variety of munitions and materials, including spare parts and missiles dedicated to its MiG-29s. Back in April 2022, Poland was pushing its partners to deliver jets to Ukraine. Supposedly some of the Polish MiG-29 airframes were quietly transferred, but these claims have not been confirmed by any official source.
On March 16, during the joint conference with the President of Czechia, Petr Pavel, Andrzej Duda claimed that 4 MiG-29s would be delivered in a couple of days. Duda said:
“As for the MiG-29 jets, which are still active aircraft in the air defense of our country… Indeed, such a decision was taken first by us jointly at the level of the highest state authorities, and then the government adopted a special resolution on this issue. We still have a dozen of these MiGs. (…) Their place will be taken by newly delivered FA-50 aircraft from South Korea, the first ones are expected at the end of the year, and later by squadrons of F-35 aircraft.”
Poland’s Minister of Defense, Mariusz Blaszczak, initially suggested transferring the jets as a part of a broader coalition of states. Indeed, Slovakia announced it would be transferring a number of its MiG-29 to Ukraine in mid-March. These aircraft have since been confirmed as operational by Olena Kondratiuk, deputy speaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada.
Poland acquired 23 former East German MiG-29s in 2002. The transfer of these to Ukraine contractually requires the German government’s permission. Approval of the transfer is expected to be fast tracked.
Unlike the Slovakian aircraft, the Polish MiGs have had a number of upgrades including modern transponders, GPS and radar-warning receivers. They have also been fitted with modern avionics suites and NATO-compatible communications packages. They also have a MIL-STD-1553 multiplex data bus system that allows the MiGs to deploy GPS-guided munitions, including the Joint Direct Attack Munition (J-DAM)s which the US has provided in recent aid transfered.
Cover picture by Jan Herzog under CC BY 4.0 License.