USAF Puts HARMs on MiG-29s, Cruise Missiles on C-130s, Cargo in B-52s
If the U.S. can't give Western jets to Kyiv, it's got a plan B.
In the last few months, the U.S. Air Force has modified Ukrainian
MiG-29s to carry Western anti-radar missiles, turned U.S. strategic
bombers into cargo carriers, and transformed airlifters into
long-range strike aircraft, officials said this week, as Russia and
the changing Indo-Pacific security environment have forced the service
to think outside the box.
The modifications to the Soviet-era MiG-29s, which were done by an
undisclosed Air Force contractor, will allow Ukraine to wield U.S.
AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles. It's one way to get Kyiv Western-compatible capabilities without the policy decision on whether
to provide Ukraine U.S. fighter aircraft, and the Air Force is
interested in seeing what else can be done, said Chief of Staff Gen.
C.Q. Brown Jr.
"These are the conversations I want to make sure we are having," Brown
said at the Air & Space Forces Association's annual conference outside Washington, D.C.. "Whether we decide to do it or not, I think we
actually need to have the conversations on some of these to see what
options there are."
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2022/09/usaf-puts-harms-mig-29s-cruise-missiles-c-130s-cargo-b-29s/377452/
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