AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolia has accepted a pair of MiG-29UB two-seat fighters donated by Russia under the orders of President Putin, the Aviation International News reports. 

The ceremony took place on November 26 — the nation’s Independence Day — at the military base within the fence of the Chinggis Khaan International Airport that serves the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.

Speaking at the event, the commander of the Mongolian air force, Brigadier General Enkhbayar, described it as the “opening of a new page for Mongolian aviation.” He added that the two aircraft, received free of charge, will improve the service’s combat efficiency, and enable it to fulfill the primary task of patrolling Mongolian airspace and keeping control of the nation’s borders.

Addressing the personnel of 303 and 337 Squadrons, he called upon them to treat the two MiGs as “the symbols of our cooperation with Russia.

President Putin made the decision to resume military aid during his official visit to Ulaanbaatar in September this year. The two sides signed a protocol on the resumption of an earlier agreement covering military-technical cooperation centered on free-of-charge shipments of military equipment from Russian army stocks. In addition to the MiGs, Moscow has donated a handful of the Pechora-2M medium-range SAM systems.

In another development earlier this month, Poland made the decision to resume flying its MiG-29s, which have been grounded since March this year following two crashes. With 30 aircraft on strength, the type is the second most numerous tactical aircraft in the Polish air force inventory, after the F-16.