Nine decommissioned RD-33 engines from MiG-29 fighters appeared in a Chinese advertisement with a price of 550 thousand yuan – about 7 million rubles at the exchange rate on October 12. However, the seller did not specify whether the amount refers to the entire batch or to a single engine. In the first case, each unit will cost approximately 776 thousand rubles; in the second, nine engines will cost almost 63 million rubles.
The advertisement was published by the VH Aviation account, which is associated with the Chinese city of Zhuhai. The seller describes the engines as serviceable and suitable for aviation training and technical experiments, but does not provide data on operating hours, repairs, or inspection results. In the photographs, the units are located outdoors, and their serviceability cannot be confirmed from the images.
The RD-33 was developed by the Soviet Klimov design bureau for the MiG-29, which is equipped with two such engines. It is unclear whether the batch is intended for training purposes, dismantling for spare parts, or restoration.
The RD-33 also has a continuation outside of Russian aviation. Based on it, the RD-93 was created – an engine for the Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighter. One design line connected the Soviet MiG-29 with an aircraft that is currently operated by the Pakistan Air Force. However, the RD-93 differs from the original RD-33, so the units offered for sale cannot be automatically considered suitable for the JF-17.
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