Germany authorized Poland to transfer MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine

Of the MiG-29 combat aircraft that Poland had promised to Ukraine, some had previously been purchased from Germany and required its permission to re-export them.

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In 2002, Poland purchased from Germany some 20 MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters, which had belonged to the now defunct German Democratic Republic (DDR is the German acronym). In the sales contract, it was stipulated that Warsaw had to ask Berlin’s permission if it wanted to sell or lease them to a third party.

About a dozen of the 23 ex-DDR MiG-29s originally purchased from Germany are still operational and are part of the Fulcrum fighter package promised by the Polish president to his Ukrainian counterpart.

Polen will die Ukraine mit Kampfflugzeugen aus DDR-Altbeständen unterstützen. Nun hat Deutschland nach SPIEGEL-Informationen die dazu benötigte Genehmigung erteilt. https://t.co/LW7FRS3orv

— SPIEGEL EIL (@SPIEGEL_EIL) April 13, 2023

As reported by the German newspaper Der Spiegel, the same day the formal Polish request to enable the transfer of the aircraft to Ukraine arrived in Berlin, it was immediately approved by the government of Olaf Scholz.

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MiG-29 for Ukraine

Polish President Andrzej Duda had promised to hand over his Fulcrum fighters in March, and in recent statements, he reported that the first eight aircraft had already been delivered and six more were being readied. These aircraft did not require any approval for their transfer, as they had been inherited by Poland from when they were part of the Soviet Union. After obtaining Berlin’s permission, Kiev will have the possibility of receiving a dozen more of these vital fighter aircraft in the coming months.

Poland will keep some MiG-29s in its inventory until they can be replaced by the new FA-50s recently purchased from South Korea’s KAI. After the Korean fighters arrive, these aircraft will also be available to Ukraine.