Algerian Fulcrum buzzing the cameraman.

We don’t know when it was filmed, even though our sources say it is quite recent. Whatever, this video is pretty interesting as it shows an Algerian Air Force (Al Quwwat aljawwiya aljaza’eriiya) MiG-29 Fulcrum doing an ultra-low level pass over people allegedly at Mecheria Air Base, the Fighter Weapon School of the AAF.

The aircraft is a MiG-29S Fulcrum, one of the remaining 30-40 airframes that were originally procured from Belarus and Ukraine between 1999 and 2003. All the AAF Fulcrums are currently assigned to the 3rd Air Defense Wing (3e Escadre de Défense Aérienne), based at Bousfer, in the western part of the country, not far from the border with Morocco.

In 2007, the Algerian Air Force started receiving the first batch of a package of 34 MiG-29SMT/UBTs worth $1.3B, with an additional $500 million for the modernisation of 36 early-model MiG-29s acquired for $18M. These should have been upgraded to the SMT/UBT standard, but upon receiving the first aircraft, the Algerian air force found that some “new” equipment actually dated back to the early 1990s, when the aircraft had been manufactured.

In 2008, the MiG-29 SMT contract was cancelled and the first 12 RSK MiG-29SMT single-seat fighters and UBT-model trainers already delivered were returned to Russia and exchanged for 16 Su-30MKA multirole fighters.

It was recently announced that the Algerian Air Force will be receiving additional Su-30MKA and MiG-29M/M2 fighters from Russia after contracts worth nearly $2B signed. On Sept. 9, Russian daily newspaper Vedomosti reported that Algeria had ordered an additional 16 Su-30MKA aircraft, joining the 58 already in service, and another 14 MiG-29M/M2 aircraft, the latter destined to replace the existing 36 MiG-29S.