The US has acquired 81 out of date Soviet-era fight plane from Kazakhstan, a report from the Kyiv Post says.
Kazakhstan, which is upgrading its air fleet, auctioned off 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber plane, together with MiG-31 interceptors, MiG-27 fighter bombers, MiG-29 fighters, and Su-24 bombers from the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties.
The Kyiv Post reported that the declared sale worth was one billion Kazakhstani tenge, or $2.26 million, equalling a median worth for every airplane of $19,300.
The outlet cited stories from the Ukrainian Telegram channel Insider UA and the Russian information website Reporter saying the US bought 81 of the aged, unusable warplanes.
The Kyiv Post reported that the motive behind the US buy remained undisclosed however that the plane might be utilized in Ukraine, the place related plane are in service.
The Russian website Reporter stated the sale was made by means of offshore firms.
But Kazspetsexport, Kazakhstan’s state-owned weapons importer and exporter, denied promoting army airplanes to Ukraine in a press release, saying that international firms weren’t allowed to bid.
The Pentagon did not instantly reply to a request for remark from Business Insider.
Given Ukraine’s continued reliance on Soviet-era weapons, the plane may both function a supply of spare components or be strategically deployed as decoys at airfields, the Kyiv Post reported.
The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor that was designed to defend Soviet airspace, in response to Airforce Technology. It performed a essential position throughout the Cold War.
Derived from the MiG-23, the MiG-27 was a ground-attack plane and noticed motion in conflicts such because the Soviet-Afghan War. The MiG-29 excelled in air-to-air fight. It was extensively exported and stays in service with some air forces.
Despite its age, the Su-24 — an all-weather tactical bomber — stays in service with a number of air forces, together with the Russian Aerospace Forces and Ukrainian Air Force.
Kazakhstan, previously a part of the Soviet Union, has maintained shut ties to Russia and traditionally was one in all its strongest allies. But the connection has shifted since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Kazakhstan aligning itself extra with the West, drawing the fury of some in Russia.
The Kyiv Post reported that the Central Asian nation’s efforts to improve its army capabilities appeared to coincide with its rising engagement with Western nations, signaling a shift away from historic ties with Moscow.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, visited Kazakhstan in February 2023, the place he stated that the US strongly supported “its independence, its territorial integrity,” in response to Agence France-Presse.
Some of Russia’s outspoken propagandists have instructed that Russia ought to look to Kazakhstan following its invasion of Ukraine.
One Russian TV commentator, Vladimir Solovyov, stated his nation “must pay attention to the fact that Kazakhstan is the next problem because the same Nazi processes can start there as in Ukraine.”
Agreements on commerce, schooling, setting, and mineral provides mirror the deepening ties between Kazakhstan and Western nations because it navigates geopolitical challenges posed by neighboring international locations comparable to Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Iran.
Correction: April 28, 2024 — An earlier model of this story misstated the foreign money conversion price of the Kazakhstani tenge to the greenback. One billion tenge is value $2.26 million, not $1.5 million.