Smokey Bandits

Orden de batalla · Equipos de exhibición · Royal Malaysian Air Force

Smokey Bandits

A five-ship MiG-29 display team from Kuantan, named after the smoky exhaust of the Fulcrum’s Russian engines at full thrust.

2001Fundado
MiG-29NAeronave
5In the display
DisueltaEstado
Photo: Peter Gronemann from Switzerland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
OperadorRoyal Malaysian Air ForcePaísMalasiaTipoFormation aerobatic teamHome baseRMAF Kuantan Air BaseEstadoDisuelta
La historia

Smokey Bandits: how the team came to be and what it flies today

Fulcrums from Kuantan

Malaysia took delivery of 16 single-seat MiG-29Ns and two MiG-29UB trainers from 1995, basing them at Kuantan on the east coast of the peninsula with No 19 Squadron ‘Cobra’ (Wikipedia also names No 17 Squadron). According to Wikipedia the Smokey Bandits, a display team of five MiG-29s, were established in 2001. The name came from the smoke trail left by the fighter’s two Russian engines when running at full thrust.

The end of the MiG-29

The team could last only as long as the fleet. Two Malaysian MiG-29s were lost in separate crashes in 1998 and 2004, six were retired in 2010 to save on maintenance costs, and the last ten were withdrawn in 2017, leaving the Su-30MKM as the air force’s Russian fighter. No reachable source records the team’s last display.

The team could last only as long as the fleet. Two Malaysian MiG-29s were lost in separate crashes in 1998 and 2004, six were retired in 2010 to save on maintenance costs, and the last ten were withdrawn in 2017, leaving the Su-30MKM as the air force’s Russian fighter.Smokey Bandits · verified 2026-10-02
De un vistazo

Smokey Bandits in numbers

The team

Formation
5 aircraft

  • Five MiG-29s

El avión

Flown
Mikoyan MiG-29N

  • Mikoyan MiG-29N (local designation, 9.12SD export version)

Hogar

Based at
RMAF Kuantan

  • No 19 Squadron ‘Cobra’

The display

Aircraft in the display
5
El avión

Every type Smokey Bandits has flown

Aeronave Años Number Nota
Mikoyan MiG-29N 2001–2017 5 Fleet of 16 MiG-29N and 2 MiG-29UB; last ten retired 2017.
Cronología

Smokey Bandits, year by year

1995

MiG-29s delivered to the RMAF at Kuantan.

2001

Smokey Bandits established with five MiG-29s, according to Wikipedia.

2010

Six MiG-29s retired to save on maintenance costs.

2017

Last ten MiG-29s retired.

Preguntas y respuestas

Everything people ask about Smokey Bandits

What aircraft did the Smokey Bandits fly?
Mikoyan MiG-29N Fulcrum fighters, five of them in the team.
Where were the Smokey Bandits based?
At RMAF Kuantan, home of the MiG-29 squadrons.
Why were they called the Smokey Bandits?
After the smoke from the MiG-29’s two engines at full thrust.
Do the Smokey Bandits still fly?
No. Malaysia retired its last MiG-29s in 2017.

Continúa el recorrido

Around Smokey Bandits

El operadorRoyal Malaysian Air ForceFleet, bases and order of battle of the service that flies the team.Read the Royal Malaysian Air Force pageHome baseRMAF Kuantan Air BaseThe units, runways and history of the airfield the team flies from.Read the base pageFormation aerobatic teamKris SaktiA four-ship Extra 300L team of RMAF pilots, backed by a private contractor and trained with the Blades, that debuted at LIMA 2011 after the MiG-29 Smokey Bandits.Read the Kris Sakti pageEquipos de exhibiciónEvery military display teamAll the formation, solo and helicopter teams in the Order of Battle, active and disbanded.Open the list
Fuentes y lecturas adicionales

Todos los datos, verificados

Verified 2026-10-02.