saxitoxin wrote:Billions of dollars of equipment they won't be able to use!!!
Ukraine is withdrawing their M1A1 tanks ($10MM/each to build, outfit, and ship) because they're being picked-off by $500 Russian drones.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/st ... ne-threatsThat's $350,000,000 of the American Ukraine aid that's just been sidelined at a cost of $16,500 to Russia.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has bought 81 Soviet jets from Kazakhstan, at a total cost of $2.26 million, or less than 20 K per jet.
What the jets are to be used for has not been announced, but it is generally assumed that they will be given to Ukraine as parts planes for its fleet. The MIG-27s, 29s, 31s, and SU-24s, are generally considered obsolete by first rate powers, but they are still in use in Russia and Ukraine. By buying these planes for Ukraine, the U.S. helps Ukraine keep its own air fleet alive, while denying those same parts planes to Russia.
You can't buy a second-hand Cessna for $20,000. This is one of the best bargains of the war.