Syria unabashedly has been advertising about its batch of MiG-29 warplanes that it has been handed down by Russia. A close look at the video released by the Syrian defense has revealed that these Russian fighter jets - MiG 29 are old and rusty and may not really stand a chance against Turkey and Israel's F-16s.
The Syrian army on Saturday received a batch of MiG-29 warplanes from Russia, state news agency SANA reported.
The delivery took place during a ceremony held in the Russian-run Hmeimim airbase in Syria's northwestern province of Latakia, said the report, adding that the warplanes flew from Hmeimim to the respected Syrian bases.
The Syrian pilots will start using the warplanes in maneuvers as of June 1, said the report.
The MiG-29 warplanes are the most advanced versions of the legendary jet and Russian news media such as the Avia.Pro has loud about its claim that the MiG-29s will make the Syrian forces a superior force in tackling Israel's F-16 Fighting Falcons.
According to Avia.Pro the MiG-29s supplied to Syria have better combat capabilities than the F-16s operated by Israel both of which are single-seater jets.
Can Damaged Fleet of MiG 29 Take on Sleek F-16s
In the late 1980s, the Syrian government had acquired 48 fighter jets, comprising of both single-seat MiG-29A fighters and two-seat MiG-29UB trainers from the then Soviet Union.
It is currently unclear, how many of those from the old fleet still are in service as many have been shot down over the years since the start of civil unrest in Syria.
The new fleet of MiG 29s is being hailed a game-changer for Syria that has bee facing increasing threats both from Israel and Turkey. The truth is Russia has handed out old and damaged warplanes to Syria.
A video released by Syrian defence shows that the Syrian MiG 29s recently acquired by Syria from Russia show signs of damage.
There are several dents and scratches on the nose radome and the fuselage beneath the cockpit, which are quite visible in all the three videos released by Syrian defence on YouTube.
The windscreen of the MiG 29 is discolored while the canopy frame shows visible signs of damage. The land gear tires also seem to be worn out and raise questions on how old actually the fleet is?
What is even worse is that there are signs of oil leakage and exhaust stains all oer the scratched and beaten surface of these old Russian aircraft.
According to an observation by The Drive, the firing port of the MiG-29 show in the video that has an internally-mounted 30mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 automatic cannon is rusty, while the left-wing glove behind it is damaged.
