Military Jets Photography: 2013 10 02 Spotting at LDZA

The core of the air force is a squadron of 10 modernized MiG-21bisD/UMD fighters. In 2003, a minor upgrade and an extensive overhaul were performed in Romania, incorporating navigation and communication elements of the Lancer standard to make them interoperable with NATO air forces. The aircraft received no upgrade to their weapons systems. Despite initial plans to replace the MiG-21 fleet with a multi-role aircraft in 2013 and an official tender having been issued in 2008, ongoing budgetary constraints have resulted in an abandonment of these plans. As a cost-saving measure, a decision was made to overhaul seven serviceable airframes already in service and supplement them with five additional airframes from Ukrspetsexport. This temporary measure will see the fleet return to 8 single-seat and 4 twin-seat fighters that will remain in service only until the end of 2019.