The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced the beginning of the ceremony of “decommissioning” of the Soviet-made MiG-29 aircraft, which are on the balance sheet of the country’s air force. Today, May 15, these machines will patrol the Romanian airspace for the last time. At the same time, official Bucharest seems to intend to turn the indicated process of decommissioning fighters of this model into a show.
Rather, in the air show. The last takeoff of several MiG-21 LanceR fighters will be carried out from the two largest Romanian air bases – the 75th “General Ionescu” and the 86th ” Lieutenant-Aviator Gheorghe Mochornitsa “in the south-west of the country. After that, some of the 21 fighters will be scrapped, and a number of such aircraft will become exhibits of local aviation museums.
What was the reason for the refusal of official Bucharest from these fighters? According to official information, the decommissioning is carried out as part of the modernization of the Romanian army as a whole. It is assumed that by 2024 the local armed forces will “get rid” of tanks, armored personnel carriers and military aircraft of the Soviet (Russian) production and will finally switch to the standards of the North Atlantic Alliance. The Romanian Ministry of Defense has already stated that in the foreseeable future the country’s military fleet will almost entirely consist of American European F-16 fighters and bombers and their modifications. “This will be able to guarantee our strategic security and strengthen the defense capability of the Romanian state,” the Romanian Defense Ministry said in a special statement.
Skeptics say otherwise. “The MiG-21 was rightfully considered a reliable machine, it is too early for it to become part of history. At least for now,” said retired Romanian Air Force pilot Mircea Constantine in a commentary for EURO-ATLANTIC URRAINE. – Romania kept such aircraft in perfect order. Maybe it is worth continuing to operate them or send them to other countries, including Ukraine?
Bucharest does not answer this question.
Yes, this is not necessary. At the moment, the Romanian authorities are not considering the possibility of providing Kyiv with strategic weapons in general and military aircraft in particular. As in the days of the Socialist Republic of Romania under Nicolae Ceausescu, Bucharest reserves the right to independently determine the vector of its own military doctrine.
Whether this is so – we will all find out in the near future.
