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The US has bought 81 Soviet-era fight plane from Kazakhstan, the Kyiv Submit studies.
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Kazakhstan, a historic ally of Russia, is participating extra with Western nations.
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The planes may very well be used for spare elements or deployed as decoys in battle areas, the Submit mentioned.
The US has acquired 81 out of date Soviet-era fight plane from Kazakhstan, the Kyiv Post reported.
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 Seventies and Eighties.
The declared sale worth was one billion Kazakhstani tenge, mentioned the Submit, or $2.26 million, equalling a median worth for every aircraft of $19,300.
The US bought 81 of the aged, unusable warplanes, mentioned the Ukrainian Telegram channel Insider UA, per the Submit.
The motive behind the US buy stays undisclosed, mentioned the Submit, nevertheless it raised the potential of their use in Ukraine, the place related plane are in service.
The sale was made by offshore corporations, mentioned Reporter, a Russian English language news site.
Given Ukraine’s continued reliance on Soviet-era weapons, the plane might both function a supply of spare elements or be strategically deployed as decoys at airfields, mentioned the Submit.
The Mikoyan MiG-31 was a supersonic interceptor designed to defend Soviet airspace, in response to Airforce Technology. It performed a important function in the course of the Chilly Struggle.
Derived from the MiG-23, the MiG-27 was a ground-attack plane and noticed motion in conflicts just like the Soviet-Afghan Struggle. The MiG-29 excelled in air-to-air fight. It was broadly exported and stays in service with some air forces.
Regardless of 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 Drive.
Kazakhstan, previously a part of the Soviet Union, has maintained shut ties to Russia and traditionally was one in every of its strongest allies. However the relationship has shifted since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Kazakhstan aligning itself extra with the West, drawing the fury of some in Russia.
The Central Asian nation’s efforts to improve its army capabilities coincide with its rising engagement with Western nations, signaling a shift away from historic ties with Moscow, per the Kyiv Submit’s evaluation.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kazakhstan in March 2023, the place he mentioned that the US strongly helps “its independence, its territorial integrity,” in response to news agency AFP.
A few of Russia’s outspoken propagandists have advised that Russia ought to look to Kazakhstan following its invasion of Ukraine.
One Russian TV commentator, Vladimir Solovyov, said that his nation “should take note of the truth that Kazakhstan is the subsequent downside as a result of the identical Nazi processes can begin there as in Ukraine.”
Agreements on commerce, schooling, surroundings, and mineral provides mirror the deepening ties between Kazakhstan and Western nations because it navigates geopolitical challenges posed by neighboring nations like Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Iran.
Correction: April 28, 2024 — An earlier model of this story misstated the forex conversion price of the Kazakhstani tenge to the greenback. One billion tenge is price $2.26 million, not $1.5 million.
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