The American billionaire Jared Isaacman gave his point of view about the old MiGs that would be flying from Poland to Ukraine with the sole purpose of being able to help the Ukrainian military.
According to NBC the fellow astronaut is so far the only American to own a Russian-made frontline MiG-29 that has become the center of an international diplomatic mystery in the global effort to help to Ukraine.
“On a purely technical level, I don’t know how the good could outweigh the bad of bringing those MiG-29. People are thinking about the implications,” said Jared Isaacman.
Isaacman, who amassed a fortune from a payment processing company he founded as a teenager, said the Russians could easily bring down battlefield planes, even, with a single shot.
He also noted that the Russians are waiting to see them fly over to annihilate them: “What change of momentum would that be for Russia? What moral boost would that be for them? And it has already been so publicized that the Russians could be waiting for the moment when those planes cross the border.”
The fleet of MiG-29 that Poland offered to donate to Ukraine and that were used in the Soviet era, according to Jared Isaacman, they would not be a match for the Russians who have planes with more advanced sensors, as well as a longer-range weapons system.
“There are Russian fighters that could see those MiG-29 from three times as far,” he said.
Jared Isaacman also pointed out that so far he has not received a call from the Ukrainian government to offer details on the pros and cons of the MiG-29, and that he knows perfectly well since he has one of them.
However, other people have approached him for precise information about his MiG-29: “The MiG-29 is the highest performance aircraft I have ever flown. It can go very fast. It is an incredible plane”.
Despite highlighting its speed, in terms of combat he does not believe that the defense systems are of great help to Ukraine.