MiG-29 Fulcrum `Sniper´ - Romanian Air Force
MiG-29 Fulcrum `Sniper´ Forțele Aeriene Române (9)

The kit was very very basic and I felt an urge to build a Romanian Air Force jet. Finished it in less than 2 weeks 🙂

EADS/Aerostar/IAI Mig-29 Sniper upgrade

In 1997 the Romanian company Aerostar S. A. launched a programme to upgrade the Romanian Air Force's MiG-29s to a new standard called Sniper. In June 1999 Aerostar signed a deal with EADS and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAl) in order to undertake the upgrade. The Sniper shared most of the avionics items introduced on Romania's upgraded MiG-21 bis fighters and MiG-21UM trainers known as the Lancer A/B/C.
The upgrade capitalised on the existing EADS NATO compatibility upgrade/service life extension programme, using an avionics package supplied and integrated by lAl's Elbit division, including a modular multi-role mission computer linked to a MIL-STD-1553B digital data bus, full HOTAS functionality, a second strap-down Litton Italiana INS integrated with Trimble GPS and a new air data computer. The cockpit featured a new El-Op wide-angle HUD, two 6x4" digital colour MFDs with a choice of metric or imperial units, and an Elbit DASH-3 helmet-mounted sight. Centimetre- and decimetre- waveband frequency-hopping communications radios supplied by Honeywell were fitted. A new Elisa SPS-20 RHAWS and compatibility with Western weapons were envisaged.
The prototype, a Romanian Air Force MiG-29 serialled '67 White' (c/n 2960532367, f/n 4305) which had been donated to Aerostar and completely overhauled at the company's Bacau facility, first flew on 5th of May 2000 in the hands of EADS test pilot Wolfgang Schindermann; later it was also flown by lAl test pilot Yahuda Shafrir. After completing a 15-flight test programme the aircraft was flown to Berlin-Schönefeld on 26th May for static display at the ILA 2000 airshow.
Later the Sniper upgrade was offered to other MiG-29 operators and advertised at other international airshows. Moreover, it was announced that the upgrade could be expanded to include the same Elta EL/M-2032 pulse-Doppler radar as used by the MiG-21 Lancer C.
Understandably, this seriously miffed the Russians who pointed out that DASA and Aerostar had no right to undertake and market such an upgrade without authorisation from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) - that is, RSK MiG.
The Romanian Air Force had provisionally given the go-ahead to upgrade its 18 MiG-29s to Sniper standard.
However, integration problems soon arose. Then, in March 2003 the Romanian Air Force grounded its entire Mig-29 fleet and announced its intention to phase out the type, scrapping any upgrade plans - apparently for financial reasons.