Forbes: the main problem of Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters is the lack of pilots
The MiG-29 is the most massive fighter of Ukraine, inherited by the country from the USSR. The readiness of Ukrainian combat aircraft for war was assessed by Forbes columnist David Ax.
According to the author, Kiev currently has from 37 to 70 MiG-29 aircraft, although after the collapse of the Soviet Union it had about 200 such fighters. "The fleet of MiGs decreased over the next two decades, as Kiev sold some of the jets to foreign buyers and sent aircraft for storage that it could not afford to maintain and maintain," the publication says.
The author called the main problem of the Ukrainian MiG-29s not their small number or obsolescence, but the shortage of pilots who leave the Air Forces of Ukraine, in particular, due to low salaries and lack of sufficient training.
Aks assures that "in February 2014, on paper, the Ukrainian Air Forces operated 80 MiG-29 units," more than half of which were in Crimea. After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the MiG-29s that were in disrepair on the peninsula were dismantled and handed over to the Ukrainian side.
In February, Popular Mechanics wrote that in terms of the number of equipment and its capabilities, the Aerospace Forces of Russia surpass the Air Forces of Ukraine.
In December 2021, the directory World Air Forces 2022, published by the magazine FlightGlobal, also reported that Russia ranks second in the world after the United States in the number of military aircraft and helicopters. According to the data provided, Russia has 4,173 military aircraft (8 percent of the world's military aviation fleet).
According to the materials of the same directory, Kiev currently has 43 MiG-29 light fighters, 12 Su-24 front-line bombers, 17 Su-25 attack aircraft and 26 Su-27 heavy fighters (not counting training aircraft).
