Russia supplies Sudan with MiG aircraft ahead of schedule

MOSCOW, July 20, 2004 (Interfax-AVN) — Russia’s MiG aircraft corporation is about to complete implementation of the contract on the supply of 12 MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters and special-purpose materiel to Sudan ahead of schedule, Yuriy Chervakov, head of the MiG department for public relations, said on Tuesday.

“The last two MiG-29SE fighters will be shipped to Sudan aboard a transport plane on Wednesday. The plane will take off from the Tretyakovo airfield in Lukhovitsy outside Moscow,” Chervakov told Interfax-Military News Agency.

The contract for the supply of 10 MiG-29SE fighters and two MiG-29UB trainers to Sudan was signed in 2001. It is to be implemented before December 2004, but thanks to precise arrangement of work, most of which has been done in the past 10 months, the contract will be implemented half a year ahead of the deadline.

“According to MiG leaders, early implementation of the contract at a high quality level confirms the corporation’s ability to comply with its obligations to foreign customers. Moreover, it opens new prospects for cooperation with Sudan,” Chervakov said.

According to unofficial sources, the value of the contract with Sudan exceeds 200m US dollars.