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Photos posted to social networks confirmed that at least three of Syria’s MiG-29 fighter jets have survived recent Israeli strikes on the country, although a close look indicates that none of the aircraft are airworthy.
The Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) had some 30 MiG-29s. Around just 20 of them were reportedly operational when the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad collapsed last December.
Most of these fighter jets were upgraded to a special standard derivative from the Russian SM version. This allowed the jets to fire beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and precision-guided air-to-surface munitions. Furthermore, the jets were equipped with active jamming systems from Belarus.
Hours after the fall of the regime on December 8, Israel launched hundreds of strikes with the aim to destroy all of Syria’s combat capabilities in a large-scale aerial attack dubbed “Operation Arrow of Bashan.” Hebrew media reported that all of the SyAAF’s MiG-29s were wiped out.
Following reports of the fighter jets’ destruction, Israeli Knesset Member Matan Kahana, a former fighter pilot, explained the significance in a lengthy post on the X social network.
“At night I dreamed of Syrian MiG planes,” he began. “When I was a young pilot, our main threat was the Syrian aerial defense, and the MiG-29.”
“We trained a lot on flying deep into Syria to attack the aerial defense and bases of the Syrian Air Force, and air battles against the MiG-29 planes, which in those days had superior capabilities to our F-16 plane (we didn’t have the long-range radar missiles which the MiG had),” he wrote.
“No kidding, I dreamed about it at night. Even in my sleep I could recite the performance graph of the MiG-29… In the last few days, the next generation of air force fighters are making my dreams come true and destroying the Syrian air force. And I am jealous and full of appreciation,” Kahana concluded.
Photos that surfaced online later, with the latest from May 28, revealed that at least three of the SyAAF’s MiG-29s actually survived the strikes.
The three fighter jets, with the serial numbers 3423, 3432 and 3437, are all based at al-Seen Air Base, one of Syria’s largest military facilities. The air base is located approximately 140 kilometers southwest of the ancient city of Palmyra and 90 kilometers northeast of the capital, Damascus.
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A United States-backed force took over al-Seen earlier this month. Later, Major General Ali Noureddine al-Naasan, Chief of the General Staff of the new Syrian military, visited the base. One of MiG-29s appeared in the official photos from the commander’s visit.
Syria’s Interim Government has been working to bring back the SyAAF. However, the MiG-29 left in al-Seen won’t be of use. The three fighter jets are in a very bad condition, with rust and holes across their airframe. The landing gear of one of the jets even broke.
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On top of all of that, none of them were among the ones upgraded to the SM standard. This suggests that the jets have not been airworthy for a very long time as the upgrade took place before the war broke out in 2011. It is very likely that they were excluded from the upgrade program due to structure damage or such serious issues.
Syrian MiG-29 saw very little action during the war, as they were rarely used in ground attack missions. This only happened a few times, when al-Seen or nearby military facilities came under attack. Despite this, sources from the former SyAAF told SouthFront that the new military refused to allow any of the MiG-29 pilots, even those who saw no action at all, to return to service. The sources also said that security forces are actively hunting down those pilots.
The decision not allow former SyAAF staff to serve again, coupled with the lack of funds and the absence of any meaningful international relations, will likely leave Syria without any meaningful air force for the long term. This will of course play in favor of both Turkey and Israel, as it will grant them freedom of operations over the country.
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