Russi​a To Donat​e 10 MiG-​29 Jets To Leban​on - Fight​ Israe​l?​

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

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Russia to donate 10 MiG-29 fighters to Lebanon
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RIA Novosti
12/17/2008

http://en. rian. ru/russia/20081217/118911194. html

MOSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will supply Lebanon with 10 used MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter planes free of charge, the head of the federal military cooperation service said on Wednesday

The usual export price for a new MiG-29 is around $30 million

Mikhail Dmitriyev said that before being shipped to Lebanon, all aircraft would be repaired and modernized "to export standards"

He also said Russia and Lebanon were holding talks on a deal for the Arab country to buy Russian military hardware

"Joint work with our Lebanese colleagues is underway now, dealing with the purchase of Russian armored vehicles, artillery and other military hardware, as well as other types of armaments," Dmitriyev said

He also said that Lebanese military servicemen would be trained in Russia

The MiG-29 deal was announced on Tuesday by Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr after a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Anatoly Serdyukov

Serdyukov said Moscow had received a "shopping list" from the Lebanese armed forces, which would be considered in the near future.
He added that the fighter deliveries would provide a fresh impetus to military cooperation between the two countries

The Lebanese Air Force is believed to currently have virtually no airworthy planes

Currently the Air Force is equipped with Bell UH-1 Iroquois combat helicopters, developed back in the 1950s, and Robinson R44 Raven II civilian helicopters, all of which were supplied by the United States

In 2007, Beirut took delivery of nine SA342L Gazelle helicopters from the United Arab Emirates.