Poland has old jets. Ukraine has killer drones. They’re about to make a trade.

Poland may give Ukraine its last few Soviet-made Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters. The twin-engine, supersonic fighters are decades old and may not have much airframe life left. But Ukraine doesn't need them to last forever. They'd be a temporary fix to a worsening problem.

Reinforcing the Ukrainian air force's three MiG-29 brigades, the leftover Polish planes could help compensate for the steady decline in the air force's inventory of larger Sukhoi Su-27 interceptors—and buy time for the air arm as it awaits additional Western-made fighters.

The Polish general staff in Warsaw announced the possible MiG-29 transfer on Tuesday. "Negotiations are ongoing with the Ukrainian side regarding the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft," the staff stated. "A final decision has not yet been made."

If the deal does go through, Ukraine stands to gain 14 or 15 1980s-vintage—but heavily upgraded—MiG-29s to add to its existing fleet, which combines Ukraine's scores of original ex-Soviet MiG-29s with 30 additional MiGs donated by Azerbaijan, Slovakia, and Poland after Russia widened its war on Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine's fighter fleet at a glance

The Ukrainian air force currently operates four fighter types with varying replacement prospects:

Aircraft	Origin	Delivered	Replacement available?
Su-27	Soviet inheritance	~12-23 remain	❌ None—no allied operators
MiG-29	Soviet + European donations	~30-40 active	⚠️ Limited European surplus
F-16	European donations	~60 of 90 pledged	✓ More possible
Mirage 2000	French donations	~6 of 12+ pledged	✓ More possible

Exactly how many MiG-29s are left in the Ukrainian inventory is a closely held secret. Ukrainian brigades went to war with around 36 active MiGs, lost 31 in action, and likely grounded others owing to airframe fatigue. At the same time, they replaced nearly every single shot down jet with a donated one and also added to their pre-war inventory by restoring unflyable jets sitting in long-term storage.

It's possible, after all this time and all this fighting, the air force has more flyable MiG-29s than it did before February 2022. Adding another 15 or so Polish airframes would add further resilience to what has proved to be a highly resilient force.

Redundant MiGs

The Poles don't need the MiGs anymore. They're rapidly converting their squadrons to American-made Lockheed Martin F-16s, F-35s, and South Korean FA-50s.

While the proposed MiG donation "will be an element of the allied policy of supporting Ukraine and maintaining security on NATO's eastern flank," to borrow the Polish general staff's phrasing, it's not purely unselfish.

No, Poland expects something in return.

The trade: Soviet jets for Ukrainian tech

"In connection with the transfer of the aircraft, negotiations are being conducted with the Ukrainian side regarding the provision to Poland of selected drone and missile technologies," the general staff stated. "The goal is not only equipment compensation, but above all, the acquisition and joint development of new defense and industrial competencies."

What Poland gets in return:

• Access to Ukrainian drone technology battle-tested against Russian forces
• Missile system expertise developed during three years of war
• Joint defense industry development and production capabilities
• Operational knowledge from combat-tested Ukrainian systems

It's a fair trade for Ukraine, as the government of Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is keen to strengthen ties between Ukraine's defense industry and the industries of Kyiv's closest allies.

In Ukrainian service, MiG-29s perform all the same tasks that the bigger—and much rarer—Su-27s do. They shoot down Russian missiles and drones, toss precision glide bombs at Russian positions and fire AGM-88 radar-homing missiles at Russian air defenses.

Ukraine's ex-European F-16s and Mirage 2000s also handle these missions. There's just one thing the F-16s and Mirages do that the MiGs can't do: jam Russian radars with electronic warfare systems.

An influx of Polish MiGs buys the Ukrainian air force time as it inducts the last few dozen F-16s (out of 90 pledged) and the last few Mirage 2000s (out of around a dozen pledged), and also looks forward to acquiring cutting-edge Saab Gripens from Sweden and equally sophisticated Dassault Rafales from France starting as early as next year.

Aircraft	Origin	Delivered	Replacement available?
Su-27	Soviet inheritance	~12-23 remain	❌ None—no allied operators
MiG-29	Soviet + European donations	~30-40 active	⚠️ Limited European surplus
F-16	European donations	~60 of 90 pledged	✓ More possible
Mirage 2000	French donations	~6 of 12+ pledged	✓ More possible