"TJ" wrote in message ...
robert arndt wrote:

3 ex-Ukrainian aircraft sold to US as satellite
launchers in 1999..

Some dodgy info there in IDMA 2002/3. It was projected but in the end this
did not take place. It should have been plainly obvious to IDMA researchers
that the sale/project did not go ahead.

TJ

My bad. IDMA does note that the status of that sale is still unclear.
I should have included that in the info provided but I was typing
fast.
Apparently, in 1999 3 ex-Ukrainian AF Tu-160s were to be sold to US
company Platforms International Corp of Mojave. In March 1999 the
Ukrainian Govt. authorised the sale of the aircraft for $20 mil to
include spares and support for use in satellite launching. The
aircraft are to remain at Priluki and be maintained and flown from
there by local crews, transitioning to customer countries for
satellite launches.
The IDMA 2002/2003 was being compiled in 2001 so at that time the
status must have been unclear.
Thanks for clearing that up. So, when was the status officially
changed to no sale?
The above information comes from "Directory of Military Aircraft of
the World" which was published in 2001. No word from that book if the
sale went through or not so I'm assuming that the order was cancelled
after IDMA 2002/2003 was published in early 2002?

Rob