However, after receiving 15 MiG fighters, Algeria in May 2007 refused further deliveries. In October 2007 it froze all payments stipulated in contracts with Russia, requiring that Moscow first take back the 15 MiG-29s due to their substandard quality.

The aircraft were eventually returned to Russia in April, and after thorough testing were approved for service with the Russian Air Force.

Meanwhile, following a MiG-29 crash in East Siberia last December, the defence ministry admitted for the first time last week that Russia's MiG-29 fleet of 281 aircraft was mostly outdated and not capable of performing combat duties.

Military experts believe the aircraft, which was developed in the 1970s and supplied to the Air Force between 1983 and 1993, has become obsolete and needs to be removed from active service.

MiG-29SMT is an upgraded version of the MiG-29 fighter, carrying a wide range of air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry.

The MiG aircraft maker has said that after an upgrade the combat effectiveness of the aircraft increased three-fold and operating costs dropped by about 40 percent.