The US bought 81 old fighter jets from Kazakhstan to give to Ukraine
The United States reportedly purchased 81 obsolete Soviet-era fighter planes from Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, with the intention of supplying them to Ukraine.
Kazakhstan, like other former Soviet states, inherited a number of Soviet military assets after the disintegration of the communist bloc in the 1990s.
In recent years, Kazakhstan has gradually modernized its fleet, moving from obsolete Soviet-made combat aircraft to more contemporary models, such as the Russian Su-30SM multi-role aircraft.
In October last year, Kazakhstan declared its plan to sell 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber planes as part of this process. These were MiG-31 interceptors, MiG-27 fighter-bombers, MiG-29 fighters and Su-24 bombers, produced in the 1970s and 1980s. The declared value of the sale was a few million dollars
To be precise, the declared sales value was one billion Kazakh tenge, equivalent to approximately 2.26 million dollars, with an average value of 19,300 dollars per aircraft.
The planes had been defined as being in a state of advanced obsolescence and unuse, practically to be demolished to obtain aluminum and titanium, but things seem to have gone differently.
However, reports from Russian -language news site Reporter and Ukrainian Telegram channel Insider UA revealed that the United States recently purchased 81 aircraft through offshore entities. The report added that the purchased aircraft include MiG-27, MiG-29 and Su-24.
This development comes in the context of Kazakhstan's growing alignment with the West in Central Asia, which could strain its historic ties with Russia, a crucial military and strategic ally in the post-Soviet space.
During his visit to Kazakhstan in March 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken strongly supported the country's “independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Soon after, some Russian commentators suggested that Russia should monitor Kazakhstan closely, fearing a repeat of the unrest seen in Ukraine. Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent Russian television commentator, has warned of potential unrest in Kazakhstan similar to that which occurred in Ukraine, warning of similar “Nazi processes” taking root in the region.
Ukraine relies on Su-24 fighters
Aircraft models obtained from the US, such as MiG-27s, MiG-29s and Su-24 bombers, are highly compatible with Ukraine's operational capabilities, fueling speculation that they could be earmarked for shipment to Kiev .
Reports suggest that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) could dismantle them for spare parts or use the obsolete airframes as decoys at airfields, improving their operational flexibility and survivability. for vehicles such as the MiG 31, which are not in service with the Ukrainian Air Force, this is the probable destination, in addition to the low-cost supply of titanium.
The potential transfer of Su-24 bombers is of particular importance, as it could play a crucial role in maintaining Ukraine's existing Su-24 fleet. Surely the technicians linked to the US and the Ukrainian ones will do everything to recover these planes which, in the conflict, proved to be very robust.
Ukraine has used this platform extensively against Russian forces, with support from NATO allies turning it into a lethal deep strike system. The exact number of Su-24 aircraft purchased by the United States from Kazakhstan was not disclosed, but between spare parts already present in Ukraine and components replaced by Westerners it is likely that some could be recovered.
The Su-24M is the most powerful air-to-ground platform of the UkrAF (Ukrainian Air Force). It boasts a payload capacity of up to 8,000 kg (17,637 lb), enabling devastating strikes against enemy targets. This aircraft was adapted to carry, for example, the Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, mounting components derived from those of the Tornado, an aircraft present in abundance in Europe, indeed in the process of being decommissioned and, in some ways, similar in function to the Su -24M
Russia has recognized the threat posed by these aircraft, with Ukrainian Su-24s remaining prime targets for the Russian Aerospace Forces (RuAF) as it seeks to impose air superiority over Ukraine.
MiG 29 with a non-standard missile
The 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade (brTA), the only remaining Su-24 unit of the Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF), is herepaggatia with these missiles have successfully targeted logistics nodes in Russian-occupied Ukraine and assets strategic forces in Crimea, dealing significant blows to Russian military operations.
A similar argument can be made for the MiG 29s which could be scrapped to obtain spare parts for the aircraft in service or even, given the abundance of spare parts, the Ukrainians could try to recover some complete aircraft, replacing the missing or obsolete components with other material of Western origin.
For example, there had already been talk in 2023 about the opportunity to replace Soviet-era radars with more modern ones (not very modern, but dating back to the 1990s) capable of
Obviously, however, this sale will not improve relations between Russia and Kazakhstan, and will increase pressure on the Central Asian country. je
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The article The US bought 81 old fighter jets from Kazakhstan to give to Ukraine comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/gli-usa-hanno-comprato-81-vecchi-caccia-dal-kazakistan-per-darli-allucraina/ on Mon, 29 Apr 2024 16:40:59 +0000.