MIG-29'S ARRIVE

SLAF sources say the Mig-29s have arrived in Sri Lanka and will be deployed soon.

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Meanwhile the Chinese built F7's the SLAF already possesses, have demonstrated their ability to deal effectively with any threat posed by the flying tin cans of the Tamil Tigers, with the reported destruction of one of the Zlins last week over Mullaitivu. The F7G's are much cheaper to own and operate, and Sri Lanka already possesses decades of experience with these hardy aircraft. The F7Gs currently deployed were supplied either free of charge or at vastly discounted prices by the Chinese, obviously in a move to ensure their dominance of Sri Lanka's defence needs.

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More info on the F7s here; http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/mig-21.htm and http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/j-7.htm

The Mig-29 is a much sophisticated aircraft which has yet to prove itself in real combat, even though it has demonstrated superior handling compared to even the US built F-16. A few years ago, a contingent of Indian Air Force personnel surprised USAF air combat teams by beating the Americans at their own game with Mig-29s on a training course at TopGun. Nevertheless the Mig-29 has no real combat record and is of doubtful significance to the Sri Lanka's immediate needs. Additionally, the SLAF will have its own learning curve with these aircraft, while the need of the hour is for aircraft that our pilots and maintenance crews are familiar with, and which are suitable for our own unique situation.

A good description of the Mig-29s is available here;

http://www.sci.fi/~fta/MiG-29-1.htm and http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/mig-29.htm

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The long suffering Sri Lankan tax payers deserve to be shown some decisive results with the acquisition of the new hotrod toys, as they've cost exorbitantly and have already caused much speculation as to the reasons behind this expenditure.

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The SLAF's Mig-29s will cost the tax-payers at least USD 75Mn at USD 15 Million per aircraft. The price paid appears to be consistent with market prices in the global arms trade.

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[In the meanwhile, the Nigerians paid USD 251Mn for 16 F7 aircraft, at a cost of over USD15Mn per aircraft for these low tech aircraft. Looks like someone in Nigeria just got very rich..http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/nigeria-spends-251m-for-chinese-f7-fighters-after-oil-deals-01269/ ]