Serbia receives two more MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia.

Serbia took delivery of two more Russian MiG-29 fighter jets, the country's Ministry of Defense announced yesterday. Those two secondhand jets are part of an extensive overhaul program conducted in Russia under a US$213 million contract.

The two MiG-29 fighter jets recently handed over to the Serbian Air Force
(Credit: Ministry of Defence of Serbia)

The Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the ceremony at the Batajnica airbase, close to the Serbian capital, Belgrade, thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for helping make Serbia’s armed forces stronger. Vucic declared that the repaired MiGs should be named after Serbian pilots and other "heroes" who defended Serbia during the "NATO aggression" in 1999. 

The President pointed out that "Today is an important day for Serbia. Today we have seen the mighty wings of Serbia." 

Serbia started receiving MiG-29 fighter jets donated by the Russian government in October 2017, with a first batch of two aircraft delivered by one An-124-100 cargo plane. 

In December 2016, the government in Belgrade said Russia had agreed to donate six MiG-29 fighter jets to Serbia's Air Force. Moscow had also agreed to extend to 14 years the service life of the Serbian Air Force fleet of Russian-made MiG-29s, including the donated aircraft.