Why is the US Purchasing Russian Fighter Aircrafts like Mig-29 & SU-27?

By
EurAsian Times Desk
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Why are US companies purchasing Russian Fighter Aircrafts and other Soviet -era Military jets like SU-27 and Mig-29? Russian Fighter Aircrafts are being purchased by American companies mainly from Ukraine and providing them to the US defense establishment for training purposes. This was stated in an article published on Sunday in The National Interest.

The list of companies that are buying Russian Fighter Aircrafts and providing such services to the US defense forces includes Air USA, Tactical Air Support, Draken International and Pride Aircraft. Air USA, according to information on its official website, have two MiG-29 fighters. The firm’s website reports that both aircrafts were manufactured in the Soviet Union and “imported from the former Soviet republics.”

The Draken International page says that it has Russian Fighter Aircrafts MiG-21 at its disposal. The website of Pride Aircraft reported that it recently purchased combat aircraft Su-27 from Ukraine. The website also states that the Russian Fighter Aircrafts have already been sold, but to whom is not specified.

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The Report states that the Su-27 fighter was seen while simulating an air battle with an F-16 aircraft near the Nellis airbase in the US state of Nevada. In September 2017, there was a plane crash at the Nellis airbase, in which Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Schultz died.

The American edition of Aviation Week later reported that Schulz could not manage the Russian Fighter Aircrafts during the maneuvers against US fighter jets. Schulz was believed to be serving in a division specializing in the use of Soviet-Russian fighter aircraft, including the Su-27 and MiG-29, in order to assess their fighting abilities. Representatives of the Nellis airbase refused to comment.

Quoting American pilot Jerry Gallop, who, according to The National Interest, in the past traveled to Ukraine and participated in the transactions to acquire two Su-27 aircrafts. He highly appreciated the flying qualities of the Russian Fighter Aircrafts, in particular, the ability to quickly gain speed. The publication notes that the aircraft was tested in the US without weapons. The publication also says that maintenance of aircraft manufactured by the Russian Federation and the erstwhile USSR is likely to be expensive. The publication stated that this can be a profitable business for American companies if the US Air Force is willing to pay for the opportunity to use Russian Fighter Aircrafts for training purposes.

At the Nellis airbase, since the times of the Cold War, there has been a research center that studies weapons of the “probable enemy”, primarily the USSR. As noted by the American magazine Popular Mechanics, Eric Schultz was commander of the squadron of the US Air Force, which is engaged in the testing and evaluation of foreign aircraft. According to the publication, the likely reason that the authorities did not disclose the precise reason for his death was because he Schulz was piloting a foreign aircraft.

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