If you want to buy a fighter plane, you may have an opportunity in Kazakhstan. The country is selling a collection of 117 old combat jets, all of which have been retired and are no longer fit to fly.
Among the planes on offer is the MiG-31 Foxhound, considered the fastest fighter in service in the world, capable of reaching 3000 km/h. The Kazakhstan Air Force is selling 10 of these planes for US$1 million. In addition to the MiG-31, the MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter-bomber and the Su-24 Fencer and MiG-27 Flogger attack jets.
The planes were announced by state organization Kazspecexport and are being sold at auction as a source of “non-ferrous metals”. Whoever makes the winning bid must dismantle the aircraft where they are located, that is, within the air bases, in the regions of Almaty, Abay, Karaganda and Shymkent.
The fighters have reached the limit of their useful life and can no longer fly, the government reports. Renovating and modernizing planes is also economically unfeasible. Therefore, the air force decided to auction the planes, which can only be purchased by recognized legal entities.
Even though the country is selling the planes as scrap, MiGs can make the eyes of collectors and enthusiasts shine. On the other hand, it is possible that “entities” see aircraft as a source of important components, notes the Bulgarian Military. The jets could serve Ukraine, which operates the MiG-29 and Su-24 amid the war against Russia, which makes it difficult to obtain spare parts for its own planes.
The sale of fighter planes is part of the modernization process of the Kazakh Air Force, which already has more up-to-date vectors. The MiG-31 itself continues to fly in the country, but in a modernized version, alongside the Sukhoi Su-30SM, widely used by Russia in the conflict with Ukraine. They share the air base apron with other veteran models, such as Su-27, Su-25, MiG-29 and MiG-27.
