Last Two Soviet-Era MiG-29 Interceptors To Be Upgraded For Modern Warfare

The last two of the Soviet-era MiG-29 interceptors that have been in service for three decades in the Air Force are all set to be upgraded. The MiG-29 legacy jets, which are also known as "Baaz" (eagle), on Saturday took off from Gujarat’s Jamnagar to Ojhar in Maharashtra , where the IAF's '11 Base Repair Depot' (BRD) is located. The Indian Air Force operates more than 60 MiG-29s and, except these two, all of them have been upgraded. The jets have been upgraded to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, reported NDTV.

The two jets flew over the Ojhar airfield marking the end to an impressive era when these aircraft proved crucial in operations of Indian Air Force. MiG-29’s has been instrumental in conducting in escort missions during Kargil war in 1999. 

28 Sep, 28 Sqn tarmac buzzed with roars of last 02 Legacy Mig29.A/c tookoff& carried out flypast over Ojhar to mark end of an era. A/c were received at 11BRD #IAF for upgrade& OH. To mark the historic event, Air Cmde SV Borade AOC handed over the souvenir plaque to CO.@IAF_MCC pic.twitter.com/nzjcfLH39g

— PRO Defence Nagpur (@PRODefNgp) September 29, 2019

However, the Indian Air Force and state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, recently, rectified the pricing issue of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A.

The defence ministry had also cleared the Procurement of additional Akash surface-to-air missiles (SAM) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), costing Rs. 5500 crores, reported The Hindu. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence is currently reviewing Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) and the Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2009. A 11-member committee has been appointed by the Ministry of Defence to revise both DPP and DPM. The committee is required to give its recommendation within six months.