Soviet-era fighters

UK revives proposal to get Soviet-era fighters to Ukraine

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says UK could ‘backfill’ for eastern European allies if they send older planes to Ukraine.

BY CRISTINA GALLARDO

The U.K. is pushing for the West to supply modern fighter jets to eastern European allies so that they can donate their own Soviet-era planes to Ukraine.

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Friday this would allow Ukraine to receive more MiG 29 or Su-24 fighters to defend against Russian aggression.

But, speaking on Sky News, he stressed the U.K. would not be sending its own Typhoon jets “in the short-term” to Ukraine, amid concerns Britain does not have many to spare.

Kyiv had lobbied the West to receive fourth-generation fighter jets such as the U.S.-made F-16s, but its allies have so far been reluctant to supply those, amid concerns of further escalation and technical barriers including the need to build longer runaways in Ukraine and the length of the training programs for Ukrainian jet pilots.

Speaking to Times Radio on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wallace said: “The other quick way that Ukraine can benefit from fighter jets is for those countries in Europe that have Russian Soviet fighter jets — MiG 29s or Su-24s — if they wish to donate, we can use our fighter jets to backfill and provide security for them as a result, or indeed to backfill to allow them to have their own capability because they are already configured to fight in a NATO way, where of course Ukraine isn’t.”

Asked if eastern European allies supported his idea, Wallace noted Poland had already suggested gifting MiG 29s.

“The point here is that from a leadership point of view the U.K. has offered, in the same way that the United States have on some other types of equipment, that if [Eastern European allies] wish to do that, and are worried about your security as a result of it, we can come and backfill to help support that,” he said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said later Friday the U.K, is “ready and willing” to replace donated planes.

“We have been working very closely with our international allies on this throughout the conflict and as the defense secretary said this morning, we would be ready and willing to help others if they were able to supply their jets,” he said.

Possible options

Almost a year ago, U.S. President Joe Biden vetoed a similar backfill proposal with Poland, under which the eastern European nation would send 28 Soviet-jets to Ukraine in exchange for planes with “corresponding capabilities” to those.

The American leader took the decision on the advice of Pentagon officials and U.S. intelligence chiefs, who feared the plan could draw the West into direct conflict with Russia. The move angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who accused the U.S. and Poland of “playing ping pong” with the lives of Ukrainians.

But the proposal is now gaining traction once again, after Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last Saturday said his country is ready to provide its MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine if the U.S. leads a wider coalition for transfers of aircraft to the war-torn country.

“Today we can talk about transferring our MiG [jets] as part of a wider coalition, and we are ready for that,” Morawiecki said, according to a Reuters report from Warsaw. “Poland can only be a part of a much larger coalition here, a coalition with the United States as a leader,” he said.

Kyiv, whose pilots already operate MiG-29s and Su-24, argues these are not enough for Ukraine to achieve air superiority over Russia, partly because they would not be able to cross into Moscow-controlled territory without being shot down by the highly capable air defenses laid by Russian troops along the frontline.

Ukraine could also receive MiG-29s from Slovakia’s stocks. A Slovak diplomat said talks about this idea are ongoing, and that the move would be enabled by a pre-war contract struck with the U.S. five years ago. Under the deal, Slovakia would receive 14 F-16s from the U.S. from 2024.

Slovakia is no longer operating the 14 MiG-29s it owns, because some of them are not capable of flying and its airspace is covered by the Czech Republic and Poland.

Bulgaria, which also uses MiG-29s and is expecting a delayed delivery already-commissioned F-16s, is reluctant to donate its own Soviet jets amid fears it would hinder its already insufficient defense capabilities, a second diplomat said.