Ethiopian military victory Eritrean diplomatic victory
162-516: 19,000–67,000 killed 2,600 captured 4 MiG-29s 1 Aermacchi MB-339 34,000–60,000 killed 1,100 captured 3 MiG-21s 1 MiG-23 1 Su-25 2+ Mi-35s The Eritrean–Ethiopian War , also known as the Badme War , was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. After Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, relations were initially friendly. However, disagreements about where
324-617: A League of Nations mandate of the former German Cameroon and a free hand in Ethiopia from France in return for Italian support against Germany (see Stresa Front ). This was refused by French Prime Minister Édouard Herriot , who was not yet sufficiently worried about the prospect of a German resurgence. In its second invasion of Ethiopia in 1935–36, Italy was successful and it merged its new conquest with its older east African colonies to create Italian East Africa ( Italian : Africa Orientale Italiana ). On 9 May 1936 Mussolini proclaimed
486-611: A Phazotron RLPK-29 radar fire control system which includes the N019 Sapfir 29 look-down/shoot-down coherent pulse-Doppler radar and the Ts100.02-02 digital computer. The N019 radar was not a new design, but rather a development of the Sapfir-23ML architecture used on the MiG-23ML. During the initial design specification period in the mid-1970s, Phazotron NIIR was tasked with producing
648-409: A probe-and-drogue system . The cockpit features a conventional centre stick and left hand throttle controls. The pilot sits in a Zvezda K-36DM ejection seat . The cockpit has conventional dials, with a head-up display (HUD) and a Shchel-3UM helmet mounted display , but no HOTAS ("hands-on-throttle-and-stick") capability. Emphasis seems to have been placed on making the cockpit similar to
810-586: A Phazotron Zhuk-M radar. The aircraft is also being equipped to enhance beyond-visual-range combat ability and for air-to-air refuelling to increase endurance. In 2007, Russia also gave India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) a licence to manufacture 120 RD-33 series 3 turbofan engines for the upgrade. The upgrade will also include a new weapon control system, improved cockpit ergonomics , air-to-air missiles, high-accuracy air-to-ground missiles and guided bombs. The first six MiG-29s will be upgraded in Russia while
972-478: A Ukrainian Su-25 was shot down, with Ukrainian officials stating that a Russian MiG-29 shot it down using a R-27T missile. Russia denied these allegations. During the first half of September 2017, the Russian Aerospace Forces deployed some MiG-29SMT multirole combat aircraft to Khmeimim Airbase, near Latakia, in western Syria, becoming the first time the modernized version of the baseline Fulcrum jet
1134-454: A chain with Great Britain and to complete the politico-military encirclement of Italy. Thus Greece, Turkey, and Egypt must be considered vital enemies of Italy's expansion ... The aim of Italian policy, which cannot have, and does not have continental objectives of a European territorial nature except Albania, is first of all to break the bars of this prison ... Once the bars are broken, Italian policy can only have one motto – to march to
1296-474: A claim it later withdrew. Surveying the extensive trenches the Eritreans had constructed, Ethiopian General Samora Yunis observed, "The Eritreans are good at digging trenches and we are good at converting trenches into graves. They, too, know this. We know each other very well". Ethiopia's offensive, codenamed Operation Sunset, began with an air attack on Assab airport by four Ethiopian fighter jets, followed by
1458-537: A commission, to look into any problems that arose between the two former wartime allies over the foreseen independence of Eritrea. This commission was not successful, and during the following years relations between the governments of the two sovereign states deteriorated. Eritrea soon began a practice of forcibly expelling Ethiopians from its territory. As early as 1991, about 30,000 wives and children of Ethiopian soldiers stationed in Eritrea were bused by Eritrean forces across
1620-847: A contiguous colonial domain in Africa from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans, and when ten million Italians had settled in them. In 1938, Italy demanded a sphere of influence in the Suez Canal in Egypt , specifically demanding that the French-dominated Suez Canal Company accept an Italian representative on its board of directors . Italy opposed the French monopoly over the Suez Canal because, under
1782-556: A disclosure in Parliament, Defence Minister A. K. Antony said the MiG-29 is structurally flawed in that it has a tendency to develop cracks due to corrosion in the tail fin. Russia has shared this finding with India, which emerged after the crash of a Russian Air Force MiG-29 in December 2008. "A repair scheme and preventive measures are in place and IAF has not encountered major problems concerning
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#17330930342091944-647: A fascist government under Shefqet Verlaci was established to rule over Albania . Mussolini entered World War II in June 1940 on the side of Adolf Hitler with plans to enlarge Italy's territorial holdings. He had designs on an area of western Yugoslavia , southern France, Corsica, Malta, Tunisia, part of Algeria, an Atlantic port in Morocco, French Somaliland and British-controlled Egypt and Sudan. On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France; both countries had been at war with Nazi Germany since September of
2106-480: A firefight between the Eritrean soldiers and a Tigrayan militia and Ethiopian police they encountered. On 13 May 1998, Ethiopia, in what Eritrean radio described as a "total war" policy, mobilized its forces for a full assault against Eritrea. The Claims Commission found that this was, in essence, an affirmation of the existence of a state of war between belligerents, not a declaration of war, and that Ethiopia also notified
2268-483: A functioning birth registration system has made it difficult to estimate the number of children affected, but it is clear that the use of children was widespread; for example, most Ethiopian prisoners of war in one large POW camp in Eritrea were estimated to be aged 14–18. The economies of both countries were already weak as a result of decades of cold-war politics, colonialism, civil war and drought. The war exacerbated these problems, resulting in food shortages. Prior to
2430-499: A general resistance to spins. The airframe consists primarily of aluminum with some composite materials, and is stressed for up to 9 g (88 m/s²) maneuvers. The controls have "soft" limiters to prevent the pilot from exceeding g and alpha limits, but the limiters can be disabled manually. The MiG-29 has two widely spaced Klimov RD-33 turbofan engines, each rated at 50 kilonewtons (11,200 lbf) dry and 81.3 kilonewtons (18,300 lbf) in afterburner . The space between
2592-748: A group known as the Eritrean Islamic Jihad . On 14 April 2002, the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission that was established under the Algiers Agreement in collaboration with Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague agreed upon a "final and binding" verdict. The ruling awarded some territory to each side, but Badme (the flash point of the conflict) was awarded to Eritrea. Martin Pratt writes: "However, as it became clear that
2754-552: A lot was made about the MiG-29 issue several months ago, not very much has been noticed about the sheer amount of spare parts and other things that we've done to help them actually put more of their own MiG-29s in the air and keep those that are in the air flying for a longer period of time. And then also, in recent PDA [Presidential Drawdown Authority] packages we've included a number of anti-radiation missiles that can be fired off of Ukrainian aircraft. They can have effects on Russian radars and other things." Soviet era aircraft don't have
2916-639: A massive artillery barrage against Eritrean positions on the Tsorona front, which was meant as a diversion to make the Eritreans prepare for an Ethiopian offensive against eastern or southern Eritrea. The following day, the Ethiopian ground attack began. Three Ethiopian divisions broke through the Eritrean defenses in the Biyukundi area and then advanced toward Dukambiya, 20 kilometers southeast of Barentu , before turning east and hitting an Eritrean division north of Badme in
3078-490: A modern radar for the MiG-29. To speed development, Phazotron based its new design on work undertaken by NPO Istok on the experimental " Soyuz " radar program. Accordingly, the N019 was originally intended to have a flat planar array antenna and full digital signal processing , for a detection and tracking range of at least 100 km (62 mi) against a fighter-sized target. Prototype testing revealed this could not be attained in
3240-684: A number of different operations, and are commonly outfitted to use a range of air-to-surface armaments and precision munitions . The MiG-29 has been manufactured in several major variants, including the multirole Mikoyan MiG-29M and the navalised Mikoyan MiG-29K ; the most advanced member of the family to date is the Mikoyan MiG-35 . Later models frequently feature improved engines, glass cockpits with HOTAS -compatible flight controls, modern radar and infrared search and track (IRST) sensors, and considerably increased fuel capacity; some aircraft have also been equipped for aerial refueling . Following
3402-469: A peace agreement was signed by the two governments. Eritrea officially claimed that 19,000 Eritrean soldiers were killed during the conflict; Ethiopia claims to have lost between 34,000–60,000 and killed up to 67,000 Eritrean soldiers. Meanwhile, Voice of the Democratic Path of Ethiopian Unity, a clandestine political opposition group, alleged that 123,000 Ethiopians were killed, while other reports place
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#17330930342093564-558: A promise of colonial compensations made on 7 May 1919 during the partition of Germany's colonies between France and Britain. To satisfy this promise, France and Britain directly or indirectly gave Italy, from 1919 to 1935, a number of territories to expand Libya (Cufra, Sarra, Giarabub, the Aouzou strip, other lands in the Sahara), Somalia (Jubaland), the Dodecanese (Kastellorizo), and Eritrea (Raheita,
3726-625: A protectorate of Italy while Northern Albania was allocated to the states of Serbia and Montenegro . By 31 October 1918, French and Italian forces expelled the Austro-Hungarian Army from Albania. However, in 1920, an Albanian rebellion led the Italians to agree to return the occupied regions to Albania, with the exception of Sazan Island . Dalmatia was a strategic region during World War I that both Italy and Serbia intended to seize from Austria-Hungary. The Treaty of London guaranteed Italy
3888-721: A rebel group seeking independence of Oromia from Ethiopia that was based in a part of Somalia controlled by Mohamed Farrah Aidid . Ethiopia retaliated by supporting groups in southern Somalia who were opposed to Aidid, and by renewing relations with the Islamic regime in Sudan —which is accused of supporting the Eritrean Islamic Salvation , a Sudan-based group that had launched attacks in the Eritrea–Sudan border region—while also lending support to various Eritrean rebel groups including
4050-505: A report by The Independent , there were no "human waves" because Ethiopian troops instead outmanoeuvred and overpowered the Eritrean trenches. The fighting led to massive internal displacement in both countries as civilians fled the war zone – by the end of May 2000, Ethiopia occupied about a quarter of Eritrea's territory, displacing 650,000 people, and destroying key components of Eritrea's infrastructure. The Eritrean government forcibly expelled an estimated 70,000 Ethiopians according to
4212-524: A report by Amnesty International . In July 1998, Ethiopia alleged that up to 60 Ethiopians had died in Assab after being locked in a shipping container by the Eritrean police in daytime temperatures of over 40C. According to Human Rights Watch , detainees on both sides were subject in some cases to torture, rape, or other degrading treatment. This was believed to be a continuation of the 1991–93 expulsions of 125,000 Ethiopians from Eritrean territory. According to
4374-515: A second crash with a MiG-29 in east Siberia in December 2008, Russian officials admitted that most MiG-29 fighters in the Russian Air Force were incapable of performing combat duties due to poor maintenance. The age of the aircraft was also an important factor as about 70% of the MiGs were considered to be too old to take to the skies. The Russian MiG-29s have not received updates since the collapse of
4536-551: A single GSh-30-1 30 mm (1.18 in) cannon in the port wing root. This originally had a 150-round magazine, which was reduced to 100 rounds in later variants, which only allows a few seconds of firing before running out of ammo. Original production MiG-29 aircraft cannot fire the cannon when carrying a centerline fuel tank as it blocks the shell ejection port. This was corrected in the MiG-29S and later versions. Three pylons are provided under each wing (four in some variants), for
4698-452: A three-month-old baby to a 65-year-old man. The Ethiopian Air Force launched air attacks on the airport in Asmara as a retaliation. Eritreans also attacked the airport of Mekele . These raids caused civilian casualties and deaths on both sides of the border. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1177 condemning the use of force and welcomed statements from both sides to end
4860-435: A total of six (or eight). The inboard pylons can carry either a 1,150 L (250 imp gal; 300 US gal) fuel tank, one Vympel R-27 (AA-10 "Alamo") medium-range air-to-air missile, or unguided bombs or rockets. Some Soviet aircraft could carry a single nuclear bomb on the port inboard station. The outer pylons usually carry R-73 (AA-11 "Archer") dogfight air to air missiles, although some users still retain
5022-419: A true appreciation of its capabilities. Early MiG-29s were very agile aircraft, capable of rivaling the performance of contemporary F-18 and F-16 aircraft. However, their relatively low fuel capacity relegated them to short-range air defense missions. Lacking HOTAS and an inter-aircraft data link, and requiring a very intensive "heads-down" approach to operating cockpit controls, the early MiG-29 denied pilots
Eritrean–Ethiopian War - Misplaced Pages Continue
5184-553: A two-front campaign. German and Italian forces entered Tunisia in late 1942 in response, however, forces in Egypt were soon forced to make a major retreat into Libya. By May 1943, Axis forces in Tunisia were forced to surrender. The East African Campaign started with Italian advances into British-held Kenya , British Somaliland , and Sudan . In the summer of 1940, Italian armed forces successfully invaded all of British Somaliland . But, in
5346-574: Is believed the debris from the drone collided with the aircraft and forced the pilot to eject. Ukrainian sources claim that the pilot shot down five drones and two cruise missiles shortly before the crash. The downed MiG-29 was wearing a livery similar to that of the Ukrainian Falcons display team. According to the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation: "the jet collided with debris from a destroyed drone, which caused massive damage to it to
5508-608: Is given British Somaliland, Djibuti, French Equatorial Africa up to Ubangi-Shari , as well as Ciano adding at the meeting that Italy wanted Kenya and Uganda as well. Hitler made no promises. In October 1940, Mussolini ordered the invasion of Greece from Albania , but the operation was unsuccessful. In April 1941, Germany launched an invasion of Yugoslavia and then attacked Greece . Italy and other German allies supported both actions. The German and Italian armies overran Yugoslavia in about two weeks and, despite British support in Greece,
5670-508: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Su-27s and MiG-29s were used as air superiority fighters, with ten MiG-29s reported lost on the ground and in the air. In August 2022, a senior U.S. defense official disclosed that the Ukrainians have integrated the AGM-88 HARM missile onto their "MiG aircraft" with video evidence of AGM-88 missiles fired by upgraded Ukrainian MiG-29s released by
5832-549: The Algiers Agreement on 12 December 2000; however, the ensuing border conflict would continue on for nearly two decades. Eritrea and Ethiopia both spent considerable amount of their revenue and wealth on the armament ahead of the war, and reportedly suffered between 70,000–300,000 deaths combined as a direct consequence thereof, excluding an indeterminate number of refugees. The conflict ultimately led to minor border changes through final binding border delimitation overseen by
5994-647: The Balearic Islands and creating a client state in Spain. Italy sought the control of the Balearic Islands due to its strategic position – Italy could use the islands as a base to disrupt the lines of communication between France and its North African colonies and between British Gibraltar and Malta. After the victory by Franco and the Nationalists in the war, Italy pressured Franco to permit an Italian occupation of
6156-595: The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers , there were "credible reports" that the Ethiopian armed forces used thousands of children during the war: Testimonies of former child soldiers, NGOs and journalists provide evidence of child deployment on the front lines and in massive waves across mine fields... Recruitment reportedly focused on Oromos and Somalis... and on grades 9 to 12 of secondary schools. Children were also forcibly recruited in groups from public places. The lack of
6318-690: The Cold War , a Soviet response was necessary to avoid the possibility of the Americans gaining a serious technological advantage over the Soviets, thus the development of a new air superiority fighter became a priority. In 1969, the Soviet General Staff issued a requirement for a Perspektivnyy Frontovoy Istrebitel ( PFI , roughly "Advanced Frontline Fighter"). Specifications were extremely ambitious, calling for long range, good short-field performance (including
6480-602: The Eritrea War . This invasion was halted after the loss of five hundred Italian troops at the Battle of Dogali . Depretis's successor, Prime Minister Francesco Crispi signed the Treaty of Wuchale in 1889 with Menelik II , the new emperor. This treaty ceded Ethiopian territory around Massawa to Italy to form the colony of Italian Eritrea , and – at least, according to the Italian version of
6642-597: The Invasion of Sicily , all support for Mussolini evaporated. A meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism was held on 24 July, which managed to impose a vote of no confidence to Mussolini . The "Duce" was subsequently deposed and arrested by the King on the following afternoon. Afterwards, Mussolini remained a prisoner of the King until 12 September, when, on the orders of Hitler , he was rescued by German paratroops and became leader of
Eritrean–Ethiopian War - Misplaced Pages Continue
6804-580: The Permanent Court of Arbitration . After the war ended, the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission, a body established by the Algiers Agreement, concluded that Badme , the disputed territory at the heart of the conflict, belongs to Eritrea. On 5 June 2018, the ruling coalition of Ethiopia , headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed , agreed to fully implement the peace treaty signed with Eritrea in 2000, with peace declared by both parties in July 2018, twenty years after
6966-637: The Sukhoi Su-57 , but a different design was needed to replace the lighter MiGs. A previous attempt to develop a MiG-29 replacement, the MiG 1.44 demonstrator, failed in the 1990s. The concept came up again in 2001 with interest from India, but they later opted for a variant of the Su-57. Air Force commanders have hinted at the possibility of a single-engine airframe that uses the Su-57's engine, radar, and weapons primarily for Russian service. This has since been revealed to be
7128-521: The Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate . Sharing its origins in the original PFI requirements issued by TsAGI , the MiG-29 has broad aerodynamic similarities to the Sukhoi Su-27 , but with some notable differences. The MiG-29 has a mid-mounted swept wing with blended leading-edge root extensions (LERXs) swept at around 40°; there are swept tailplanes and two vertical fins, mounted on booms outboard of
7290-720: The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) – overthrew the Derg government, and installed a transitional government in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa . During the civil war, the groups fighting the Derg government had a common enemy, so the TPLF allied itself with the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). In 1991, as part of the United Nations-facilitated transition of power, it
7452-729: The United Nations Security Council , as required under Article 51 of the UN Charter . The fighting quickly escalated to exchanges of artillery and tank fire, leading to four weeks of intense fighting. Ground troops fought on three fronts. On 5 June 1998, the Eritrean Air Force attacked an elementary school in Mekelle that killed 49 of the students and their parents and the neighbors that came to help immediately. Four more people died after reaching hospital. The victims ranged from
7614-616: The 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Sukhoi Su-27 , was developed to counter U.S. fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon . The MiG-29 entered service with the Soviet Air Forces in 1983. While originally oriented towards combat against any enemy aircraft, many MiG-29s have been furnished as multirole fighters capable of performing
7776-409: The 1980s, Mikoyan developed the improved MiG-29S to use longer range R-27E air-to-air missiles. It added a dorsal 'hump' to the upper fuselage to house a jamming system and some additional fuel capacity. The weapons load was increased to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) with airframe strengthening. These features were included in new-built fighters and upgrades to older MiG-29s. Refined versions of
7938-529: The Albanian port of Vlorë in December 1914. In the fall of 1916, Italy started to occupy southern Albania . In 1916, Italian forces recruited Albanian irregulars to serve alongside them. Italy, with permission of the Allied command, occupied Northern Epirus on 23 August 1916, forcing the neutralist Greek Army to withdraw its occupation forces from there. In June 1917, Italy proclaimed central and southern Albania as
8100-618: The Americas: Cristopher Columbus from Genoa served Spain, Amerigo Vespucci from Florence served Portugal, the Cabot brothers from Venice served England, and Giovanni da Verrazzano from Florence served France. However, no Italian power took an active role in the scramble for the Americas, with the notable exception of the Pope who acted as an arbiter between European colonial powers during
8262-412: The Axis troops overran that country by the end of April. The Italians gained control over portions of both occupied Yugoslavia and occupied Greece . A member of the House of Savoy , Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta , was appointed king of the newly created Independent State of Croatia . During the height of the Battle of Britain , the Italians launched an invasion of Egypt in the hope of capturing
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#17330930342098424-499: The Balearic Islands but he did not do so. After the United Kingdom signed the Anglo-Italian Easter Accords in 1938, Mussolini and foreign minister Ciano issued demands for concessions in the Mediterranean by France, particularly regarding Djibouti , Tunisia and the French-run Suez Canal . Three weeks later, Mussolini told Ciano that he intended for Italy to demand an Italian takeover of Albania. Mussolini professed that Italy would only be able to "breathe easily" if it had acquired
8586-431: The Ethiopian prime minister) – the Ethiopian government came under political pressure from within the EPRDF, as well as from the wider Ethiopian public, to meet force with force. After a series of armed incidents in which several Eritrean officials were killed near Badme, on 6 May 1998, a large Eritrean mechanized force entered the Badme region along the border of Eritrea and Ethiopia's northern Tigray Region , resulting in
8748-487: The French-dominated Suez Canal Company, all Italian merchant traffic to its colony of Italian East Africa was forced to pay tolls on entering the canal. In 1939, Italy invaded and captured Albania and made it a part of the Italian Empire as a protectorate and separate kingdom in personal union with the Italian crown . The region of modern-day Albania had been an early part of the Roman Empire , which had actually been held before northern parts of Italy had been taken by
8910-413: The Germans occupied Vichy France during Case Anton , Italian-occupied France was expanded with the occupation of Corsica . By the autumn of 1943, the Italian Empire and all dreams of an Imperial Italy effectively came to an end. On 7 May, the surrender of Axis forces in Tunisia and other near continuous Italian reversals, led King Victor Emmanuel III to plan the removal of Mussolini. Following
9072-430: The Hanish islands). In April 1920, it was agreed between the British and Italian foreign ministers that Jubaland would be Italy's first compensation from Britain, but London held back on the deal for several years, aiming to use it as leverage to force Italy to cede the Dodecanese to Greece. In 1922, the leader of the Italian fascist movement, Benito Mussolini , became Prime Minister and dictator. Mussolini resolved
9234-424: The Indian Navy on 19 February 2010. Italian Empire Timeline The Italian colonial empire ( Italian : Impero coloniale italiano ), also known as the Italian Empire ( Impero italiano ) between 1936 and 1941, was founded in Africa in the 19th century. It comprised the colonies , protectorates , concessions and dependencies of the Kingdom of Italy . In Africa, the colonial empire included
9396-480: The Italian government, as a matter of national prestige and to assert Italy's great power status, demanded the cession of Sanmen Bay to serve as a coaling station. Aware that Italy did not have sufficient naval power in Asian waters to back up its demand, the Chinese imperial government rejected the ultimatum and all subsequent requests, arguing that Italy had no real political or economic interests in China. This national humiliation, which for Italy's main newspaper made
9558-565: The MiG-29 with improved avionics were fielded by the Soviet Union, but Mikoyan's multirole variants, including a carrier-based version designated MiG-29K , were never produced in large numbers. Development of the MiG-29K carrier version was suspended for over a decade before being resumed; the type went into service with the Indian Navy 's INS Vikramaditya , and Russian Navy 's Admiral Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier . Mikoyan also developed improved versions MiG-29M and MiG-29SMT . There have been several upgrade programmes conducted for
9720-412: The MiG-29's ability to detect and track airborne targets at ranges available with the R-27 and R-77 missiles. The N019 was further compromised by Phazotron designer Adolf Tolkachev 's betrayal of the radar to the CIA , for which he was executed in 1986. In response to all of these problems, the Soviets hastily developed a modified N019M Topaz radar for the upgraded MiG-29S aircraft. However, VVS
9882-406: The MiG-29, outside of the Warsaw Pact . The Indian Air Force (IAF) placed an order for 44 aircraft (40 single-seat MiG-29 9.12Bs and four twin-seat MiG-29UBs) in 1984, and the MiG-29 was officially inducted into the IAF in 1987. In 1989, an additional 26 aircraft were ordered, and 10 more advanced MiG-29 9.13s were bought in 1994. Since then, the aircraft has undergone a series of modifications with
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#173309303420910044-407: The MiG-29. Common upgrades include the adoption of standard-compatible avionics, service life extensions to 4,000 flight hours, safety enhancements, greater combat capabilities and reliability. On 11 December 2013, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin revealed that Russia was planning to build a new fighter to replace the MiG-29. The Sukhoi Su-27 and its derivatives were to be replaced by
10206-430: The MiG-29s entered service with the newly formed Russian Air Force . In July 1993, two MiG-29s of the Russian Air Force collided in mid-air and crashed away from the public at the Royal International Air Tattoo . No one on the ground sustained any serious injuries, and the two pilots ejected and landed safely. The Russian Air Force grounded all its MiG-29s following a crash in Siberia on 17 October 2008. Following
10368-421: The Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War requested Italian support against the ruling Republican faction, and guaranteed that, if Italy supported the Nationalists, "future relations would be more than friendly" and that Italian support "would have permitted the influence of Rome to prevail over that of Berlin in the future politics of Spain". Italy intervened in the civil war with the intention of occupying
10530-512: The Nicobar Islands from Denmark in 1864 and 1865, the genesis of the Italian colonial empire was the purchase in 1869 of Assab Bay on the Red Sea by an Italian navigation company which intended to establish a coaling station at the time the Suez Canal was being opened to navigation. This was taken over by the Italian government in 1882, becoming modern Italy's first overseas territory. Italy's search for colonies continued until February 1885 , when, by secret agreement with Britain, it annexed
10692-422: The Renaissance. The geographical position of Italy, located in the center of an internal sea, without an open free access to the ocean, contributed to this purely Mediterranean policy. Ferdinand I , Grand Duke of Tuscany, made the only Italian attempt to create a colony in the Americas, in what is now French Guiana , organizing in 1608 an expedition to explore the north of Brazil and the Amazon river in 1608 under
10854-417: The Romans, but had long since been populated by Albanians , even though Italy had retained strong links with the Albanian leadership and considered it firmly within its sphere of influence . It is possible that Mussolini simply wanted a spectacular success over a smaller neighbour to match Germany's absorption of Austria and Czechoslovakia . Italian King Victor Emmanuel III took the Albanian crown , and
11016-399: The Russian Aerospace Forces. Instead, the 35 MiG-29SMT/UBTs rejected by Algeria were bought by the Russian Aerospace Forces. Russia placed an order for 16 new-build MiG-29SMTs on 15 April 2014, with delivery expected by 2017. On 4 June 2015, a MiG-29 crashed during training in Astrakhan . A month later, another MiG-29 crashed near the village of Kushchevskaya in the Krasnodar region with
11178-471: The Soviet Union. On 4 February 2009, the Russian Air Force resumed flights with the MiG-29. However, in March 2009, 91 MiG-29s of the Russian Air Force required repair after inspections due to corrosion; approximately 100 MiGs were cleared to continue flying at the time. The Russian Aerospace Forces started an update of its early MiG-29s to the more current MiG-29SMT standard, but financial difficulties prevented delivery of more than three MiG-29 SMT upgrade to
11340-462: The Soviet fighter force was planned to be approximately 33% PFI and 67% LPFI. PFI and LPFI paralleled the USAF's decision that created the "Lightweight Fighter" program and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and Northrop YF-17 . The PFI fighter was assigned to Sukhoi, resulting in the Sukhoi Su-27 , while the lightweight fighter went to Mikoyan. Detailed design work on the resultant Mikoyan Product 9 , designated MiG-29A , began in 1974, with
11502-535: The Suez Canal. By 16 September 1940, the Italians advanced 100 kilometres (60 mi) across the border. However, in December, the British launched Operation Compass and, by February 1941, the British had cut off and captured the Italian 10th Army and had driven deep into Libya. A German intervention prevented the fall of Libya and the combined Axis attacks drove the British back into Egypt until summer 1942, before being stopped at El Alamein . Allied intervention against Vichy French-held Morocco and Algeria created
11664-551: The Treaty of London and by 17 November had seized Fiume as well. In 1918, Admiral Enrico Millo declared himself Italy's Governor of Dalmatia. Famous Italian nationalist Gabriele D'Annunzio supported the seizure of Dalmatia, and proceeded to Zara (today's Zadar) in an Italian warship in December 1918. At the concluding Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Italy received less in Europe than had been promised and none overseas mandate except for
11826-520: The Tsorona front-line, south of Eritrea's capital Asmara and that after two days of heavy fighting, the Eritreans had beaten back the attack, claiming to have destroyed more than 45 Ethiopian tanks; although not able to verify the claim, which the Ethiopian Government dismissed as ridiculous, a BBC reporter did see more than 300 dead Ethiopians and more than 20 destroyed Ethiopian tanks. In June 1999,
11988-505: The Ukrainian Air Force few days later. For a weapon that relies on digital display to fire, the question of how it has been integrated into the MiG-29's analogue displays remains unanswered. The footage shows a commercial GPS having been installed along with a tablet of some kind. On 13 October 2022, a Ukrainian MiG-29 crashed during a combat mission. Its pilot is claimed to have destroyed a Shahed-136 drone with his cannon, and it
12150-667: The West at that time. The Soviet Union did not assign official names to most of its aircraft, although nicknames were common. Unusually, some Soviet pilots found the MiG-29's NATO reporting name, " Fulcrum ", to be a flattering description of the aircraft's intended purpose, and it is sometimes unofficially used in Russian service. The MiG-29 was widely exported in downgraded versions, known as MiG-29 9-12A for Warsaw Pact and MiG-29 9-12B for non-Warsaw Pact nations, with less capable avionics and no capability for delivering nuclear weapons . In
12312-592: The Western front. The Ethiopians attacked a mined but lightly defended mountain, resulting in the capture of Barentu and an Eritrean retreat. Fighting also continued in Maidema. Also on 17 May, due to the continuing hostilities, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1298 imposing an arms embargo on both countries. By 23 May, Ethiopia claimed that its "troops had seized vital command posts in
12474-591: The ability to use austere runways), excellent agility, Mach 2+ speed, and heavy armament. The Russian aerodynamics institute TsAGI worked in collaboration with the Sukhoi design bureau on the aircraft's aerodynamics. By 1971, however, Soviet studies determined the need for different types of fighters. The PFI program was supplemented with the Perspektivnyy Lyogkiy Frontovoy Istrebitel ( LPFI , or "Advanced Lightweight Tactical Fighter") program;
12636-534: The addition of new avionics, subsystems, turbofan engines and radars. Indian MiG-29s were used extensively during the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir by the Indian Air Force to provide fighter escort for Mirage 2000s attacking targets with laser-guided bombs . The MiG-29's good operational record prompted India to sign a deal with Russia in 2005 and 2006 to upgrade all of its MiG-29s for US$ 888 million. Under
12798-563: The air strikes. There was then a lull as both sides mobilized huge forces along their common border and dug extensive trenches. Both countries spent several hundred million dollars on new military equipment. This was despite the peace mediation efforts by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and a US/Rwanda peace plan that was in the works. The US/Rwanda proposal was a four-point peace plan that called for withdrawal of both forces to pre-June 1998 positions. Eritrea refused, and instead demanded
12960-467: The aircraft conducted flying displays at the 1989 Paris Air Show where it was involved in a non-fatal crash during the first weekend of the show. The Paris Air Show display was only the second display of Soviet fighters at an international air show since the 1930s. Western observers were impressed by its apparent capability and exceptional agility. Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, most of
13122-433: The aircraft was theirs and says they did not have any pilots in the air that day. Abkhazia 's administration claimed its own forces shot down the drone with an L-39 aircraft "because it was violating Abkhaz airspace and breaching ceasefire agreements." UN investigation concluded that the video was authentic and that the drone was shot down by a Russian MiG-29 or Su-27 using an R-73 heat seeking missile. On 16 July 2014,
13284-626: The aircraft. As of 2024 Flight Global estimates that 809 MiG-29s, of all types, are in service with air forces, making it the 5th most common active fighter. In the mid-1960s, the United States Air Force (USAF) encountered difficulties over the skies of Vietnam. Supersonic fighter bombers that had been optimized for low altitude bombing, like the F-105 Thunderchief , were found to be vulnerable to older MiG-17s and more advanced MiGs which were much more maneuverable. In order to regain
13446-701: The armistice was made public. In Albania , Yugoslavia , the Dodecanese , and other territories still held by the Italians, German military forces successfully attacked their former Italian allies and ended Italy's rule. During the Dodecanese Campaign , an Allied attempt to take the Dodecanese with the cooperation of the Italian troops ended in total German victory. In China, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied Italy's concession in Tientsin after getting news of
13608-700: The armistice. Later in 1943 the Italian Social Republic formally ceded control of the concession to Japan's puppet regime in China, the Reorganized National Government of China under Wang Jingwei . In 1947, the Treaty of Peace with Italy formally ended the empire that was now totally defunct. There were discussions to maintain Tripolitania (a province of Italian Libya ) as the last Italian colony, but these were not successful. In November 1949
13770-700: The basis for Italian imperialism, especially during the fascist era. During the Middle Ages and the modern period, the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa controlled networks of "colonies" in the Mediterranean region known as the Venetian Empire and the Genoese Empire respectively. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, Italian explorers contributed to the colonial enterprises of other European countries in
13932-574: The border should be demarcated; they looked back to colonial-era treaties between the Italian Empire and Ethiopia as a basis for the precise boundaries between the states. Problems then arose, because they could not agree on the interpretation of those agreements and treaties, and it was not clear, under international law, how binding colonial treaties were on the two states. Writing after the war had finished, Jon Abbink postulated that President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea realised that his influence over
14094-496: The border, and crowded into camps in Adigrat , Adwa and Axum , with the EPLF telling relief officials to expect 150,000 more Ethiopian civilians. Reportedly, many of the deportees were people who were being dismissed from their jobs, some of them longtime residents of Eritrea. Determining the border between the two states also became a major source of conflict. In November 1997, a committee
14256-565: The boundary identified by the commission placed the village of Badme inside Eritrea, satisfaction gave way to triumphalism within Eritrea and dismay within Ethiopia. Despite its tiny size and lack of any apparent strategic or economic value, Badme—the location of the spark that ignited the conflagration—had taken on great symbolic significance over the course of the war; previous research (Hensel and Mitchell, 2005) indicates that symbolically valued territory may be especially prone to violent conflict. For many people in both countries, Badme's fate became
14418-775: The colonial race and its status as the least of the Great Powers , a position of relative weakness in international affairs, meant that it was dependent on the acquiescence of Britain, France and Germany towards its empire-building. Italy had long considered the Ottoman province of Tunisia , where a large community of Tunisian Italians lived, within its economic sphere of influence. It did not consider annexing it until 1879, when it became apparent that Britain and Germany were encouraging France to add it to its colonial holdings in North Africa . A last-minute offer by Italy to share Tunisia between
14580-787: The command of the English captain Robert Thornton . However, Thornton, on his return from the preparatory expedition in 1609, found Ferdinand I dead and his successor, Cosimo II , was not interested in the project. In 1651, Giovanni Paolo Lascaris , Italian nobleman and Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller of Malta (at the time a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily ), possessed four Caribbean islands: Saint Christopher , Saint Martin , Saint Barthélemy , and Saint Croix , which were colonized from 1651 until 1665. No other colonial attempt in
14742-461: The computer architecture to accept NATO standard weapons. The interface would be difficult; however with a "crude modification", such as an e-tablet, it would be possible. While the MiG-29's true capabilities could only be estimated from the time it first appeared In 1977 until the mid-1980s, a combination of persistent intelligence and increasing access afforded by the Soviet foreign sales effort allowed
14904-677: The country appear "like a third or fourth-rate power", provoked the fall of the Italian government. This prompted Italy to take part in the international expedition in Beijing at the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion the following year, and resulted in the acquisition of a concession in Tianjin in 1901, the only example of Italian colonialism in Asia. The concession was administered by the Italian consul in Tianjin. A wave of nationalism that swept Italy at
15066-678: The deal, the Indian MiGs were modified to be capable of deploying the R-77 /RVV-AE (AA-12 'Adder') air-to-air missile. The missiles had been tested in October 1998 and were integrated into the IAF's MiG-29s. The IAF has also awarded the MiG Corporation another US$ 900 million contract to upgrade all of its 69 operational MiG-29s. These upgrades will include a new avionics kit, with the N019 radar being replaced by
15228-758: The death toll was 6,889, including 4,133 Italians. The Ethiopians suffered at least 4,000 dead and 10,000 wounded. Italy also fought in the Mahdist War , and since 1890 it defeated Mahdist troops in the Battle of Serobeti and the First Battle of Agordat . In December 1893, Italian colonial troops and Mahdists fought again in the Second Battle of Agordat ; Ahmed Ali campaigned against the Italian forces in eastern Sudan and led about 10–12,000 men east from Kassala, encountering 2,400 Italians and their Eritrean Ascaris commanded by Colonel Arimondi. The Italians won again, and
15390-475: The demilitarization of all disputed areas along the common border, to be overseen by a neutral monitoring force, and direct talks. With Eritrea's refusal to accept the US/Rwanda peace plan, on 22 February 1999, Ethiopia launched a massive military offensive to recapture Badme. Tension had been high since 6 February 1999, when Ethiopia claimed that Eritrea had violated the moratorium on air raids by bombing Adigrat ,
15552-569: The dissolution of the Soviet Union , the militaries of multiple ex-Soviet republics have continued to operate the MiG-29, the largest of them being the Russian Aerospace Forces . The Russian Aerospace Forces wanted to upgrade its existing fleet to the modernised MiG-29SMT configuration, but financial difficulties have limited deliveries. The MiG-29 has also been a popular export aircraft; more than 30 nations either operate or have operated
15714-407: The earlier MiG-23 and other Soviet aircraft for ease of conversion, rather than on ergonomics . Nonetheless, the MiG-29 does have substantially better visibility than most previous Soviet jet fighters, thanks to a high-mounted bubble canopy . Upgraded models introduce " glass cockpits " with modern liquid-crystal (LCD) multi-function displays (MFDs) and true HOTAS. The baseline MiG-29 9.12 has
15876-412: The engines generates lift , thereby reducing effective wing loading , hence improving maneuverability. The engines are fed through intake ramps fitted under the leading-edge extensions (LERXs), which have variable ramps to allow high- Mach speeds. Due to their relatively short combustor, the engines produce noticeably heavier smoke than their contemporaries. As an adaptation to rough-field operations,
16038-529: The engines. Automatic slats are mounted on the leading edges of the wings; they are four-segment on early models and five-segment on some later variants. On the trailing edge , there are maneuvering flaps and wingtip ailerons . The MiG-29 has hydraulic controls and a SAU-451 three-axis autopilot but, unlike the Su-27, no fly-by-wire control system. Nonetheless, it is very agile, with excellent instantaneous and sustained turn performance, high-alpha capability, and
16200-654: The establishment of the Italian Empire in East Africa ("l'Impero"), with King Victor Emmanuel III as Emperor of Ethiopia. In 1939, Italy invaded Albania and incorporated it into the Fascist state . During the Second World War (1939–1945), Italy occupied British Somaliland , parts of south-eastern France , western Egypt and most of Greece , but then lost those conquests and its African colonies, including Ethiopia, to
16362-668: The fighting continued with both sides in entrenched positions. Proximity talks broke down in early May 2000, with Ethiopia accusing Eritrea of imposing "unacceptable conditions." On 12 May, Ethiopia launched a massive combined arms offensive on multiple fronts involving four armored divisions and 22 infantry divisions, extensive artillery and close air support. The Ethiopians used pack animals such as donkeys for logistical support for their infantry, and, due to their cumbersome logistical chain, primarily relied on infantry assaults to capture Eritrean positions. They held their tanks in reserve, then brought them forward to secure positions captured by
16524-461: The fighting. Ethiopian sources stated that on 16 May, Ethiopian aircraft attacked targets between Areza and Maidema, and between Barentu and Omhajer , and that all aircraft returned to base, while heavy ground fighting continued in the Da'se and Barentu area and in Maidema. The next day, Ethiopian ground forces (with air support) captured Da'se. Barentu was taken in a surprise Ethiopian pincer movement on
16686-568: The first flight taking place on 6 October 1977. The pre-production aircraft was first spotted by United States reconnaissance satellites in November of that year; it was dubbed Ram-L because it was observed at the Zhukovsky flight test center near the town of Ramenskoye . The workload split between TPFI and LPFI became more apparent as the MiG-29 filtered into front line service with the Soviet Air Forces (Russian: Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily [VVS]) in
16848-505: The first outbreak of fighting. The widespread use of trench warfare by both sides resulted in comparisons of the conflict to the trench warfare of World War I . According to some reports, trench warfare led to the loss of "thousands of young lives in human-wave assaults on Eritrea's positions". On 16 May, the BBC reported that, after a lull of two weeks, the Ethiopians had attacked at Velessa on
17010-462: The first use of an armoured fighting vehicle in military history and marked the first significant employment of air power in warfare. In 1914 Italy remained neutral and did not join its ally Germany in World War I. The Allies made promises and in 1915 Italy joined them . It was promised territorial spoils mainly from Austria and Turkey. Prior to direct intervention in World War I, Italy occupied
17172-457: The flank, taking the Eritreans by surprise. The Eritrean division was almost totally destroyed and the Ethiopians continued their advance toward Dukambiya. Realizing that they were about to be cut off, the remaining Eritrean units deployed in the Badme area hastily retreated, abandoning nearly 100 kilometers of fortifications and most of their heavy weapons. Ethiopian Mi-24 helicopter gunships attacked
17334-469: The fleeing Eritreans with rockets. After five days of heavy fighting, Ethiopian forces were 10 kilometers (six miles) deep into Eritrean territory. Eritrea accepted the OAU peace plan on 27 February 1999. While both states said that they accepted the OAU peace plan, Ethiopia did not immediately stop its advance, because it demanded that peace talks be contingent on an Eritrean withdrawal from territory occupied since
17496-639: The fuselage and one in each wing. The internal fuel capacity of the MiG-29 (Fulcrum-C) is 4,540 L (1,000 imp gal; 1,200 US gal) due to a larger #1 fuselage tank. For longer flights, this can be supplemented by a 1,500 L (330 imp gal; 400 US gal) centreline drop tank on the Fulcrum-A and two 1,150 L (250 imp gal; 300 US gal) underwing drop tanks on later production batches. In addition, newer models have been fitted with port-side inflight refueling probes, allowing much longer flight times by using
17658-509: The government in Ethiopia was slipping, and "in the absence of a concrete border being marked," calculated that Eritrea could annex Badme. If successful, this acquisition could have been used to enhance his reputation and help maintain Eritrea's privileged economic relationship with Ethiopia. However, because Badme was in Tigray Province – the region from which many of the members of the Ethiopian government originated (including Meles Zenawi ,
17820-399: The heavily defended Zalambessa area, about 100 km (60 mi) south of the Eritrean capital, Asmara". But the Eritreans claimed they withdrew from the disputed border town of Zalambessa and other disputed areas on the central front as a " 'goodwill' gesture to revive peace talks" and claimed it was a 'tactical retreat' to take away one of Ethiopia's last remaining excuses for continuing
17982-455: The infantry. Ethiopian forces initially struggled to exploit the gaps they had torn in the Eritrean positions, often at great cost in frontal assaults against Eritrean trenches. The Ethiopians broke through the Eritrean lines between Shambuko and Mendefera , crossed the Mareb River , and cut the road between Barentu and Mendefera, the main supply line for Eritrean troops on the western front of
18144-525: The initial confrontation. From 1961 until 1991, Eritrea fought a 30-year war of independence against Ethiopia; during this period, the Ethiopian Civil War also began on 12 September 1974, when the Derg staged a coup d'état against Emperor Haile Selassie . Both conflicts lasted until 1991 when the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – a coalition of rebel groups led by
18306-664: The invading allied forces by 1943. It was forced in the peace treaty of 1947 to relinquish sovereignty over all its colonies. It was granted a trust to administer former Italian Somaliland under United Nations supervision in 1950. When Somalia became independent in 1960, Italy's eight-decade experiment with colonialism had ended. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War cost Italy 4,359 killed in action—2,313 Italians, 1,086 Eritreans, 507 Somalis and Libyans, and 453 Italian laborers. Ethiopian military and civilian dead, many of them from Italian bomb and mustard gas attacks, were estimated as high as 275,000. In July 1936, Francisco Franco of
18468-634: The invading Allied forces by 1943. In 1947, Italy officially relinquished claims on its former colonies. In 1950, former Italian Somaliland, then under British administration, was turned into the Trust Territory of Somaliland until it became independent in 1960. Imperialism in Italy dates back to ancient Rome , and the Latin notion of mare nostrum ("Our Sea", referring to the Mediterranean) has historically been
18630-545: The invasion of the Greek island of Corfu after the Corfu incident . The Italian press supported the move, noting that Corfu had been a Venetian possession for four hundred years. The matter was taken by Greece to the League of Nations , where Mussolini was convinced by Britain to evacuate Italian troops, in return for reparations from Greece. The confrontation led Britain and Italy to resolve
18792-528: The issue", Antony said. Despite concerns of Russia's grounding, India sent the first six of its 78 MiG-29s to Russia for upgrades in 2008. The upgrade program will fit the MiGs with a phased array radar (PESA) and inflight refuelling capability. In January 2010, India and Russia signed a US$ 1.2 billion deal under which the Indian Navy would acquire 29 additional MiG-29Ks, bringing the total number of MiG-29Ks on order to 45. The MiG-29K entered service with
18954-426: The kind of situational awareness routinely enjoyed by pilots operating comparable US aircraft. Analysts and Western pilots who flew examples of the MiG-29 thought this likely prevented even very good pilots from harnessing the plane's full combat capability. Later MiG-29s were upgraded to improve their capabilities. The Soviet Union exported MiG-29s to several countries. Because 4th-generation fighter aircraft require
19116-602: The limited air superiority enjoyed over Vietnam, the US refocused on air combat using the F-4 Phantom multirole fighter, while the Soviet Union developed the MiG-23 in response. Towards the end of the 1960s, the USAF started the "F-X" program to produce a fighter dedicated to air superiority, which led to the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle being ordered for production in late 1969. At the height of
19278-630: The limited number of jet fighters available, a MiG-29 belonging to the Ukrainian Falcons display team was spotted armed with a full air-to-air load and performing a low altitude fly by. In the evening of 7 August 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29MU1, bort number 02 Blue, was shot down by an antiaircraft missile fired by pro-Russian rebels near the town of Yenakievo, and exploded in midair. The pilot ejected safely. On 17 August 2014, another Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29, bort number 53 White, tasked with air to ground duties against separatists' positions
19440-500: The main air inlet can be closed completely and the auxiliary air inlet on the upper fuselage can be used for takeoff, landing and low-altitude flying, preventing ingestion of ground debris . Thereby the engines receive air through louvers on the LERXs which open automatically when intakes are closed. However the latest variant of the family, the MiG-35 , eliminated these dorsal louvers, and adopted
19602-411: The mesh screens design in the main intakes, similar to those fitted to the Su-27. The MiG-29 has a ferry range of 1,500 km (930 mi) without external fuel tanks, and 2,100 km (1,300 mi) with external tanks. The internal fuel capacity of the original MiG-29 (Fulcrum-A) is 4,300 L (950 imp gal; 1,100 US gal) distributed between six internal fuel tanks , four in
19764-468: The mid-1980s. While the heavy, long range Su-27 was tasked with the more exotic and dangerous role of deep air-to-air sweeps of NATO high-value assets, the smaller MiG-29 directly replaced the MiG-23 in the frontal aviation role. In the West, the new fighter was given the NATO reporting name "Fulcrum-A" because the pre-production MiG-29A, which should have logically received this designation, remained unknown in
19926-408: The newly created international border should be caused relations to deteriorate significantly, eventually leading to full-scale war. According to a 2005 ruling by an international commission, Eritrea broke international law and triggered the war by invading Ethiopia . By 2000, Ethiopia held all of the disputed territory and had advanced into Eritrea. The war officially came to an end with the signing of
20088-565: The newly established Italian Social Republic . After 25 July, the new Italian government under the King and Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio remained outwardly part of the Axis. But, secretly, it started negotiations with the Allies. On the eve of the Allied landings at Salerno , which started the Allied invasion of Italy , the new Italian government secretly signed an armistice with the Allies . On 8 September,
20250-498: The number of Eritrean deaths at around 150,000. Most international reports put the total war casualties from both sides as being around 70,000, but some analysts within the region suggested that the overall death toll may have been as high as 300,000. All these figures have been contested, and other news reports simply state that "tens of thousands" or "as many as 100,000" were killed in the war. Eritrea accused Ethiopia of using " human waves " to defeat Eritrean trenches. But according to
20412-520: The ocean was made and, by 1797, the Venetian and Genoese possessions in the Mediterranean were lost. Once unified as a nation-state in the late 19th century, Italy intended to compete with the other European powers for the new age of European colonial expansion. It saw its interests in the Mediterranean and in the Horn of Africa , a region yet to be colonized and with access to the ocean. Italy had arrived late to
20574-735: The oceans. In the Balkans , the Fascist regime claimed Dalmatia and held ambitions over Albania , Slovenia , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Vardar Macedonia , and Greece based on the precedent of previous Roman dominance in these regions. Dalmatia and Slovenia were to be directly annexed into Italy while the remainder of the Balkans was to be transformed into Italian client states. The regime also sought to establish protective patron-client relationships with Austria , Hungary , Yugoslavia , Romania , and Bulgaria . In both 1932 and 1935, Italy demanded
20736-533: The older R-60 (AA-8 "Aphid"). A single 1,500 L (330 imp gal; 400 US gal) tank can be fitted to the centerline, between the engines. The US has supplied AGM-88 HARM missiles to Ukraine. It appears that they are fired from MiG-29s. It was only disclosed after Russian forces showed footage of a tail fin from one of these missiles. U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl has said this: "I would just point to two things. One, you know,
20898-441: The outcome of the battle constituted "the first decisive victory yet won by Europeans against the Sudanese revolutionaries". A year later, Italian colonial forces seized Kassala after the successful Battle of Kassala ; Italy returned the city to the British at the end of the war three years later. In 1898, in the wake of the acquisition of leased territories by Germany , Russia , Britain and France in China earlier that year,
21060-402: The over 148,000 veterans who fought in the war. In total, the programme cost $ 174 million; the Ethiopian government could only pay around $ 3.1 million themselves, and had to pay the rest back with a $ 170 million loan from the World Bank . The fighting also spread to Somalia as both governments tried to outflank one another. The Eritrean government began supporting the Oromo Liberation Front ,
21222-431: The pilot safely ejecting. A series of accidents in the Russian Aerospace Forces that happened in 2015 were caused mostly by overall increase of flights and training. On 20 April 2008, Georgian officials claimed a Russian MiG-29 shot down a Georgian Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle and provided video footage from the ill-fated drone showing an apparent MiG-29 launching an air-to-air missile at it. Russia denies that
21384-410: The pilots to have extensive training, air-defense infrastructure, and constant maintenance and upgrades, MiG-29s have had mixed operational history with different air forces. The MiG-29 was first publicly seen in the West when the Soviet Union displayed the aircraft in Finland on 2 July 1986. Two MiG-29s were also displayed at the Farnborough Airshow in Britain in September 1988. The following year,
21546-487: The planes appeared to be in inoperable condition. In May, Russian troops dismantled them and shipped them back to Ukraine. On 4 August 2014, the Ukrainian government stated that a number of them had been put back into service to fight in the war in the east of the country. During the initial days of the war in Donbas in April 2014, the Ukrainian Air Force deployed some jet fighters over the Donetsk region to perform combat air patrols and show of force flights. Probably due to
21708-411: The point where it crashed near a village in northeast Vinnytsia. The pilot managed to eject and is currently receiving treatment in the hospital." On 20 September 2023, a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 was struck by a ZALA Lancet drone at the Dolgintsevo air base near Kryvyi Rih . A second drone was used as a spotter, recording the first Lancet's impact. India was the first international customer of
21870-454: The port of Massawa in Eritrea on the Red Sea from the crumbling Egyptian Empire . Italian annexation of Massawa denied the Ethiopian Empire of Yohannes IV an outlet to the sea. At the same time, Italy occupied territory on the south side of the horn of Africa , forming what would become Italian Somaliland . However, Italy coveted Ethiopia itself and, in 1887 , Italian Prime Minister Agostino Depretis ordered an invasion, leading to
22032-545: The previous year. In July 1940, Italian foreign minister Count Ciano presented Hitler with a list of Italy's goals that included: the annexation of Corsica, Nice, and Malta; protectorate in Tunisia and a buffer zone in Eastern Algeria; independence with Italian military presence and bases in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Transjordan as well as expropriation of oil companies in those territories; military occupation of Aden , Perim and Sokotra ; Cyprus given to Greece in exchange for Ionian islands and Ciamuria given to Italy; Italy
22194-433: The primary indicator of whether the enormous loss of life during the fighting had been justified." 15°N 39°E / 15°N 39°E / 15; 39 MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 ( Russian : Микоян МиГ-29 ; NATO reporting name : Fulcrum ) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union . Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during
22356-452: The problems of Southern Italy 's population growth. Fearful of being excluded altogether from North Africa by Britain and France, and mindful of public opinion, Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti ordered the declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire , of which Libya was part, in October 1911. As a result of the Italo-Turkish War , Italy gained Libya and the Dodecanese Islands from the Ottoman Empire. The 1912 Libya desert war featured
22518-457: The question of Jubaland in 1924, which was merged into Italian Somaliland . During the late 1920s, imperial expansion became an increasingly favoured theme in Mussolini's speeches. Amongst Mussolini's aims were that Italy had to become the dominant power in the Mediterranean that would be able to challenge France or Britain, as well as attain access to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans . Mussolini alleged that Italy required uncontested access to
22680-411: The question of sovereignty over the Dodecanese at the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne , which formalized Italian administration of both Libya and the Dodecanese Islands, in return for a payment to Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, though he failed in an attempt to extract a mandate of a portion of Iraq from Britain. The month following the ratification of the Lausanne treaty, Mussolini ordered
22842-415: The remaining 63 MiGs will be upgraded at the HAL facility in India. India also awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to Israel Aircraft Industries to provide avionics and subsystems for the upgrade. In March 2009, the Indian Air Force expressed concern after 90 MiG-29s were grounded in Russia. After carrying out an extensive inspection, the IAF cleared all MiG-29s in its fleet as safe in March 2009. In
23004-411: The report by Human rights Watch. Ethiopia expelled 77,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin it deemed a security risk, thus compounding Eritrea's refugee problem. The majority of those were considered well off by the Ethiopian standard of living. They were deported after their belongings had been confiscated. Ethiopians living in Eritrea were interned, and thousands of others were deported. After
23166-415: The required timeframe and still fit within the MiG-29's nose. Rather than design a new radar, Phazotron reverted to a version of the Sapfir-23ML's twisted-polarization cassegrain antenna and traditional analog signal processors, coupled with a new NII Argon-designed Ts100 digital computer to save time and cost. This produced a working radar system, but inherited the weak points of the earlier design, plaguing
23328-433: The retaliatory bombings of Asmara Airport by Ethiopia on 5 and 6 June 1998, many Ethiopians working in Eritrean towns were sacked, apparently as a reprisal, and subsequently lost their rented housing through losing their means of income or, in some cases, by being evicted for being Ethiopian. Many Ethiopians were forced to sleep on the streets outside the Ethiopian embassy in Asmara, in church compounds or elsewhere according to
23490-406: The right to annex a large portion of Dalmatia in exchange for Italy's participation on the Allied side. From 5–6 November 1918, Italian forces were reported to have reached Lissa , Lagosta , Sebenico , and other localities on the Dalmatian coast. By the end of hostilities in November 1918, the Italian military had seized control of the entire portion of Dalmatia that had been guaranteed to Italy by
23652-559: The size of the Italian empire and it also sought to satisfy the claims of Italian irredentists . Systematic " demographic colonization " was encouraged by the government, and by 1939, Italian settlers numbered 120,000 –150,000 in Italian Libya and 165,000 in Italian East Africa. During World War II , Italy allied itself with Nazi Germany in 1940 and it also occupied British Somaliland, western Egypt, much of Yugoslavia, Tunisia, parts of south-eastern France and most of Greece; however, it then lost those conquests and its African colonies to
23814-424: The spring of 1941, the British had counter-attacked and pushed deep into Italian East Africa . By 5 May, Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia had returned to Addis Ababa to reclaim his throne. In November, the last organised Italian resistance ended with the fall of Gondar . However, following the surrender of East Africa, some Italians conducted a guerrilla war which lasted for two more years. In November 1942, when
23976-457: The territories of present-day Libya , Eritrea , Somalia and Ethiopia (the last three being officially named " Africa Orientale Italiana ", AOI); outside Africa, Italy possessed the Dodecanese Islands (following the Italo-Turkish War ), Albania ( 1917–1920 and 1939–1943 ) and also had some concessions in China . The Fascist government that came to power under the leadership of the dictator Benito Mussolini after 1922 sought to increase
24138-405: The treaty – made Ethiopia an Italian protectorate . Relations between Italy and Menelik deteriorated over the next few years until the First Italo-Ethiopian War broke out in 1895, when Crispi ordered Italian troops into the country. Vastly outnumbered and poorly equipped, the result was a decisive defeat for Italy at the hands of Ethiopian forces at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. On Italy's side,
24300-402: The turn of the 20th century led to the founding of the Italian Nationalist Association , which pressed for the expansion of Italy's empire. Newspapers were filled with talk of revenge for the humiliations suffered in Ethiopia at the end of the previous century, and of nostalgia for the Roman era. Libya , it was suggested, as an ex-Roman colony, should be "taken back" to provide a solution to
24462-442: The two countries was refused, and France, confident in German support, ordered its troops in from French Algeria , imposing a protectorate over Tunisia in May 1881 under the Treaty of Bardo . The shock of the " Slap of Tunis ", as it was referred to in the Italian press, and the sense of Italy's isolation in Europe, led it into signing the Triple Alliance in 1882 with Germany and Austria-Hungary . While attempts were made to buy
24624-442: The war, much of Eritrea's trade was with Ethiopia, and much of Ethiopia's foreign trade relied on Eritrean roads and ports. According to former Eritrean official Fathi Osman, Eritrea attempted to alleviate its money problems by issuing war bonds to the Eritrean diaspora , as they lacked other means to fund their military operations. Ethiopia engaged in a 6-year long disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme for
24786-406: The war; a report from Chatham House observes, "the scale of Eritrean defeat was apparent when Eritrea unexpectedly accepted the OAU peace framework." Having recaptured most of the contested territories – and having learned that the Eritrean government would withdraw from any other territories it occupied at the start of the conflict, in accordance with a request from the OAU – Ethiopia declared the war
24948-522: The world's oceans and shipping lanes to ensure its national sovereignty. This was elaborated on in a document he later drew up in 1939 called "The March to the Oceans", and included in the official records of a meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism . This text asserted that maritime position determined a nation's independence: countries with free access to the high seas were independent; while those who lacked this, were not. Italy, which only had access to an inland sea without French and British acquiescence,
25110-408: Was agreed that the EPLF should set up an autonomous transitional government in Eritrea and organize a referendum. This referendum was held in April 1993, and the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of independence, leading to the establishment of a new state joining the United Nations. Also in 1991, the transitional government of Eritrea and the TPLF-led transitional government of Ethiopia agreed to set up
25272-475: Was delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force in July 2020. In August 2020, Ukraine began negotiations with Elbit Systems to help modernize the MiG-29 fleet. On 29 May 2020, Ukrainian MiG-29s took part in the Bomber Task Force in Europe with American B-1B bombers for the first time in the Black Sea region. In September 2020, B-52 bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing conducted vital integration training with Ukrainian MiG-29s and Su-27s inside Ukraine's airspace. During
25434-455: Was deployed to take part in the Syrian Air War. The MiG-29SMT were involved in bombing missions and secondary strategic bombers escort duties. Two Russian MiG-29s operated by Wagner Group crashed near Sirte , Libya on 28 June 2020 and on 7 September 2020. In April 2014, during the Russian invasion of Crimea , 45 Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29s and 4 L-39 combat trainers were reportedly captured by Russian forces at Belbek air base . Most of
25596-442: Was only a "semi-independent nation", and alleged to be a "prisoner in the Mediterranean": The bars of this prison are Corsica , Tunisia , Malta , and Cyprus . The guards of this prison are Gibraltar and Suez . Corsica is a pistol pointed at the heart of Italy; Tunisia at Sicily. Malta and Cyprus constitute a threat to all our positions in the eastern and western Mediterranean. Greece, Turkey, and Egypt have been ready to form
25758-453: Was over on 25 May 2000. On 18 June 2000, the parties agreed to a comprehensive peace agreement and binding arbitration of their disputes under the Algiers Agreement . On 31 July 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1312 and a 25-kilometer-wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) was established within Eritrea, patrolled by the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) from over 60 countries. On 12 December 2000
25920-408: Was reportedly still not satisfied with the performance of the system and demanded another upgrade. The latest upgraded aircraft, MiG-29M, offered the N010 Zhuk-M , which has a planar array antenna rather than a dish, improving range, and a much superior processing ability, with multiple-target engagement capability and compatibility with the Vympel R-77 (or RVV-AE). Armament for the MiG-29 includes
26082-431: Was set up to try to resolve it. Before Eritrean independence, the border had been of minor importance, as it was only a demarcation line between federated provinces, and initially, the two governments tacitly agreed that the border should remain as it had been immediately before independence. Upon independence, however, the border became an international frontier, and the two governments could not agree on where, specifically,
26244-425: Was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in the Luhansk region. The Ukrainian government confirmed the downing. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered by friendly forces. As of 2018, the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant began domestically upgrading the MiG-29 to have multirole capability, known as the MiG-29MU2. Development was expected to be completed by 2019 and enter production in 2020. The first upgraded MiG-29
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