2 seat Mig-29 more than a trainer?

[jrbm]

Hi all,

Honest question, not meant to incite any arguments re: current world events:

I have seen lots of pics of Mig-29UB's in discussions about potentially transferring planes to Ukraine. I thought these planes were pretty much trainers only without any real combat capability (yes, I read the ARC topic re: loadouts for Mig-29UB).

Question: do these planes have more of a combat role capability since their respective  countries joined NATO? Of course, the news discussions were probably referring to the single seater instead of the 2 seater, but I was curious.

Thanks.

[Dave Williams]

To my knowledge, they would be hard pressed to be effective in a modern air defense environment.  They have no radar, and are limited to IR guided A-A missiles only, and rocket pods and dumb bombs.  They also aren’t fitted with the chaff/flare dispensers in front of the tails like the single seaters, and not sure they have any RWR or ECM gear.

[TheGloriousTachikoma]

They could be stock photos that different news sources are using; they won't know the difference between the two.

Though lets be honest, Poland's Fulcrums aren't exactly modern. I'd bet Romania's Lance-R's had better radars and cockpits than Poland's old Mig-29s. They're not going to make much difference in helping Ukraine have any semblance of air superiority. Unless Poland has been ordering stuff from Elbit's catalog and keeping it quiet...thats a good idea for a what-if build, if only GWH's Fulcrums weren't so hideously expensive.

[Thadeus]

I once (very long ago) was told the UB's are as capable as the A's, sans radar. I mean, they are "UB"s, not "U"'s.

Offtop - There was an article online regarding the upgraded Syrian MiG's that apparently got the R-77 capability. That'd be nice.