Why did Kazakhstan “sell” old Soviet aircraft to the United States? Posting in CHAT: Russia While Russia was preparing for the long May holidays, the world media, including the well-known and respected publication National Interest among Russians, as well as the Ukrainian newspaper The Post, little known in the Russian Federation, spread rather unusual news that the United States had bought 81 combat aircraft of the Republic of Kazakhstan. “Deal of the Century” We are talking about Soviet fighters, which are stored and sold under the “liquidation condition”. The declared value of the transaction, according to media reports, amounted to one billion Kazakh tenge, or $2.26 million, that is, the average price of each aircraft was $19.3 thousand, which is comparable to the cost of a middle-class passenger car. The message, like the “agreement” itself, raised many questions and misunderstandings, which is not at all surprising in the current geopolitical situation. On the one hand, it is known that last year, Kazakhstan, which is actively renewing its Air Force fleet, put up for auction 117 Soviet fighters and bombers from the 1970s and 1980s. On the other hand, as practice shows, in the CIS countries most of these finished aircraft in storage are synonymous with duralumin scrap, the price of which rarely covers the cost of disposal. The Kazakh side does not hide this, having written in the contract about “liquidation conditions.” Why do Americans need all this scrap metal? Is this a big question that still doesn’t have a clear answer? Since, thanks to its “mystery,” the case itself looks quite interesting, let’s at least try to fantasize about where the legs of this whole story come from. Kazakhstan denies everything Yes, we almost forgot - after information about the agreement appeared, the Kazakh side hastened to refute the very fact of its conclusion. The Kazspetsexport report states that the information distributed on the Internet is untrue. It states that all auctions for the sale of aircraft with the condition of forced liquidation were held in strict accordance with the requirements of current legislation between legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan that have appropriate licenses issued by the authorized body. Foreign companies were not allowed to trade. “In accordance with the terms of the concluded Agreements, all aircraft, components and kits for them will be exported to the territory of Balans-Posilistov by cutting (cutting, crushing) and other methods that exclude their restoration to their original state, and will be removed from the territory only in the form of waste non-ferrous metals,” the message says. It sounds, of course, convincing, but let’s not forget that Kazakhstan is one of the most important elements of the world’s “gray” logistics plans and through its territory a little less is transported to “clients in need” than anything from anywhere. no matter what So the statement of Kazspetsexport, of course, should be treated with respect, but at the same time... philosophically. Everything follows the old principle, if something is impossible, but you really want it... Or you can even “state it in a statement.” The fact that American companies were not directly involved in the deal means nothing. American penetration into Kazakhstan today is so significant that finding a local “meta-company” is not difficult for Americans. What were they selling? Bomber Su-24. © Wikipedia But this is where things get really interesting. The “bought” ones include MiG-27 fighters, MiG-29 fighters, Su-24 bombers and... MiG-31 interceptors. If we discard the “rarity” in the form of the MiG-27, which could well be “under load,” then the three remaining aircraft may be of interest even in their current condition. Since the aircraft were removed from storage, this may mean that they all have a relatively short flight life and, despite the unsatisfactory appearance, most of their components and assemblies can well be used as spare parts. Considering that most of the spare parts for them today are not produced anywhere except Russia, Kazakh “scrap metal” may well be in demand in Ukraine. Let us remind you that the MiG-29 and Su-24 are in service with the Ukrainian Air Force and are in dire need of spare parts, which today can only be obtained “from disassembly”. Sending components and assemblies across the Kazakh border under the guise of “scrap metal” is unlikely to be a difficult task, given the peculiarities of the “transit status” of the country. Dagger-bearer Many experts seized on the theory that the United States was purchasing aircraft “for spare parts” for Ukraine immediately after reports of the “deal” appeared. This is not surprising, because its obvious meaning lies, as they say, on the surface. However, there is another reason that has not received the attention of most experts. The list of aircraft sold also includes quite unique aircraft, for example, the MiG-31 high-altitude fighter-interceptor. Created on the basis of another unique Soviet aircraft, the MiG-25, the MiG-31 is designed to intercept and destroy air targets at extremely low, medium and high altitudes, day and night, in simple and difficult weather conditions, when the enemy. uses active and passive radar jamming, as well as thermal decoys. A group of four MiG-31 aircraft is capable of controlling airspace with a front length of up to 1,100 km. Initially, the fighter was developed to intercept aircraft cruise missiles, but over time, the range of its targets was significantly expanded. For some time, the MiG-31 regiments had the status of special forces as part of the air defense. This is not surprising, since the aircraft is capable of reaching speeds of up to 3,100 km/h at altitude, which is a record for aircraft of this class. MiG-31 with Punardo under its belly. © Social networks Thanks to its high-speed capabilities, it was the MiG-31 that was modernized to launch Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles. The range of the aircraft-missile system is 2000 km. It cannot be said that in the USA or anywhere else in the West nothing is known about the MiG-31, but even now few people there will refuse to purchase these machines in whole or in part in order to “dig into the details.” " Of course, the old Kazakh MiG-31 and the planes that Kinzhals flies today are not exactly the same thing, but such an aircraft is certainly suitable as a training tool. And politics again So, as we found out, if the United States really became the happy owners of Kazakhstani “scrap metal,” then they did not spend their $2.26 million in vain. The beneficiaries of the agreement are Ukraine, which needs to repair its aircraft, the United States and, of course, Kazakhstan itself. The latter is seriously restructuring its geopolitical role, purposefully leaving the Russian orbit and starting a complex game between the United States and China. Astana intends to find a balance between these two centers, without getting too close to either of them, so as not to become completely dependent. The agreement with old Soviet aircraft fits organically into this balance of power. On the one hand, Kazakhstan was probably trying to “do something nice” for Washington by transferring Soviet “scrap metal,” in which Washington is certainly interested. On the other hand, he clearly did not want this story to become public, since China and Russia clearly would not like it. This can explain the sharp reaction of Kazspetsexport, which denied information about the “agreement.” However, there is no smoke without fire. It cannot be ruled out that Kazakhstan really did not sell aircraft to the United States, and this whole story became an information hoax of one of the geopolitical centers around which it is trying to maneuver. In this case, we can say that the provocation turned out to be quite successful, if only because today this topic is widely discussed in the world. And in this case, Astana no longer becomes the beneficiary, having concluded a successful agreement with the United States, after which, coquettishly, it does not recognize participation in it. Instead, she looks like a loser who “just like that” presented herself in front of influential partners not in the best possible way. Source link Source link
