The German government has approved a Polish request to hand over five Mikoyan MiG-29 “Fulcrum” fighters to Ukraine that had previously been operated by the German Air Force.
Warsaw needed re-export approval from Berlin to allow it to transfer the aircraft to Ukraine. Poland is in the process of transferring its entire MiG-29 fleet to Ukraine, bolstering the war-ravaged country’s air force inventory.
The Polish government made the request for re-export on April 13, with the German government responding the same day, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. “I welcome the fact that we in the federal government have reached this decision together … that shows you can rely on Germany.”
Germany absorbed 24 MiG-29s into its air force from the inventory of the East German Air Force when the East and West unified at the end of the Cold War.
In 2003—after more than a decade of service in the German Air Force including operational use in the quick reaction alert mission—the remaining 22 aircraft were purchased by Poland for a symbolic €1.
According to the German defense ministry, included in the contract with Poland was an end-user clause which stipulated that the MiG 29s may not be passed on to third parties by Poland without the written consent of Germany.
Poland and Slovakia are transferring their MiG-29s to Ukraine, to be backfilled by deliveries of Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50 Golden Eagles for Poland and Block 70-standard F-16C/Ds for Slovakia.
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