Fighter jets are very complicated, high-profile, and valuable machines. Many find a second life with other air forces or a second life in a very difficult role (showpiece, decoy, aggressor, testbed, etc.). Many are preserved as monuments to a country’s military heritage and placed in museums or on literal monuments. As a general rule, it is comparatively unusual for retiring Russian/Soviet fighter jets to serve in other air forces. One factor is likely partly because Russian/Soviet fighter jets are less durable and have fewer flight hours than their more durable Western counterparts.

This is partly why the last of the world’s truly operational MiG-21 Fishbeds likely retired in 2025 as India retired the last of its MiG-21s, while hundreds of contemporary F-5 Tigers remain in service. Another reason is that following the collapse of the USSR and the passage of the US CAATSA Act in 2017, the second-hand market for Soviet jets contracted significantly. That said, some ex-Russian jets do find their way to other air forces (e.g., Su-25s in Mali). Here are some of the fates that await fighter jets after they retire.

Second Life With Other Air Force

Credit: US Air Force

It is common for retiring fighter jets to be sold or donated to other countries. This is perhaps particularly true of Western European countries, which have a history of passing them on to others. One reason is that Western European air forces tend to replace their aircraft when those aircraft are still capable, well-maintained, and have plenty of service hours left in them. Denmark, Belgium, Norway, and the Netherlands are handing their retiring F-16s to Romania, Ukraine, and Argentina.

France has passed on some Mirages and Super Étendards to Ukraine, Argentina, and other countries, while Finland has said it will donate 16 retiring Gripen C/Ds to Ukraine starting in 2027. As a wartime necessity, legacy Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s were also sent to Ukraine. In 2010, the UK retired its Harrier jump jets, and these were purchased by the US Marines for spare parts. Canada has purchased some retired Australian legacy F/A-18 Hornets for parts and usable airframes.

Some retired US fighters are sent to other countries, but this is surprisingly uncommon compared with Western European air forces. Part of the reasons could be sensitive technologies in the aircraft, a desire for a large reserve pool, specialized aircraft of little use to other countries, and the need for test platforms. In the case of the US Navy, years of carrier operations have often worn the airframes out.

The Boneyard & Storage

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The United States is perhaps the best example of a country maintaining a large, heavily systematized boneyard. As US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fighter jets retire, they are mostly sent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and placed in storage. There, they can be maintained to return to service or be sold to another country, they can be stripped for parts, or disposed of.

No other country operates anything close to Arizona’s boneyard. In many countries, like Russia, worn-out, stored, or obsolete aircraft are often stored, seemingly ad hoc, around many airbases (e.g., Lipetsk, Taganrog). This can make it extremely challenging for independent analysts to estimate how many fighter jets a country has in service. Countries like Russia do not release inventory numbers, and so inventories have to be estimated based on counting the number of jets visible in satellite imagery, etc.

Sometimes, estimated numbers of fighter jets in service include a number of rotting old airframes seen at airports. One likely example is that lists include Mali’s air force operating MiG-21s in 2026. There is no evidence these have flown in decades. When reading lists of fighter jets by country, it is worthwhile to keep in mind the limitations of the data going into compiling the lists. The US is remarkable for its generous transparency, complete with inventories and GAO audits detailing readiness rates and reserves. Many air forces, such as that of China, are incredibly opaque. Analysts need to guesstimate based on satellite images, visible serial numbers, probable mishap rates, how recently a type was last seen flying, etc.

Testbeds & Aggressors

Credit: US Navy

One common fate, especially for US Air Force fighter jets, is to become target practice drones and test beds. Many retired US F-4 Phantom IIs met their end blown up as QF-4 Aerial Targets. After the US ran out of usable Phantom II airframes, it switched to using retired Fighting Falcons as QF-16s. Not all F-16 second lives are as targets; a few fly as modified testbeds for the VENOM (Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model) program.

A somewhat common fate for retiring aircraft is to be purchased as private training and aggressor aircraft. In the Cold War, the USAF covertly purchased a number of Soviet MiG-23, MiG-21, and MiG-29s to use as aggressor aircraft in Operation Constant Peg. Today, the US military operates a number of former Soviet aircraft (including helicopters).

Private aggressor training companies can operate fleets of around 100 old fighter jets. Examples include Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC), Draken International, Top Aces Inc., and Tactical Air. Together, these operate 400–600 jets, including Mirage F1s, Kfirs, L-39 Albatros, MiG-29s, F-16s, F-4s, Su-27s, and others.

Scrapped & Recycled

Credit: Department of Defense

A common fate is to be scrapped. This is common for aircraft types that have come to the end of their lives (e.g., there is now little secondary market for F-4s) and for sensitive aircraft. Famously (infamously), most retired US Navy F-14 Tomcats were scrapped and destroyed to prevent parts falling into Iranian hands on the black market.

The way aircraft are scrapped varies. Historically, some were dumped into the sea to serve as artificial reefs, while Australia buried 23 of its F-111 Aardvarks in 2011. Modern aircraft are difficult to recycle as they extensively use advanced composite materials. Those very materials can be guarded secrets, including the Radar Absorbent Materials (RAM). These (e.g., ex-RAF Tranche 1 Typhoon Eurofighters) can’t just be sent to a generic scrapyard.

Often, fighter jets are salvaged for parts not only to keep existing aircraft operating, but also to build new aircraft. In 2024, Sweden passed an aid package for Ukraine that included funding for the Swedish Air Force to purchase new parts to build new Gripen Es. This allowed older Gripen C/Ds to avoid being stripped for parts and be donated to Ukraine. New build Russian Su-30/34/35 are also known to incorporate at least a limited number of parts salvaged from old aircraft.

Museums & Airshows

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It is common for fighter jets to wind up in museums after retirement. The Air Force has earmarked around 12 F-117 Nighthawks to eventually be placed on display at museums around the country. As these aircraft have classified RAM, they must undergo a strict demilitarization process at the Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, before being sent to the museums.

The fate of Australia’s legacy F/A-18 Hornets tells part of the story. Three were donated to museums, 25 were sold to Canada (18 operational, seven for parts), and most of the remaining were to be sold to RAVN Aerospace as aggressor training aircraft. However, that fell through, and they were placed in storage in Guam instead.

Some large museums, like the National Museum of the US Air Force, alone possess dozens of fighter jets. Overall, there could be 3,000 to over 6,000 fighter jets and combat aircraft of various descriptions in museums around the world (many incomplete). Some are restored to flying condition (e.g., the Commemorative Air Force has many flying fighter jets). In 2026, Congress passed an act that will see three remaining F-14D Tomcats go to the US Space & Rocket Center in Alabama with the aim of returning one to flying condition.

Other Misc. Post-Retirement Uses

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There are many other fates fighter jets find post-retirement. Perhaps one of the most eye-catching reports is that China is converting many of its old J-6 and similar fighter jets into one-way attack drones or cruise missiles designed to saturate air defense. This opens up another question about what it even means to be “retired” or “in service.”

Ukrainian and Russian airfields are increasingly at risk of drone and missile strikes. Both countries have resorted to constructing elaborate wooden mockups to serve as decoys at airbases. But nothing is as convincing as the real thing. As noted previously, Russia and Ukraine don’t have dedicated boneyards. Stored and retired airframes are often left lying around the airbases.

Both countries are now using these old airframes as decoys, including towing them onto the flight line to absorb incoming strikes. There are unconfirmed reports that some countries (including the US) sent derelict old F-16 airframes to Ukraine to serve as decoys. Yet another fate in many parts of the world (particularly poorly funded air forces) is to be just pushed off the tarmac and left to rot. Examples can be seen on Google Maps at some Syrian and various African airbases. These airframes are not stored; they are abandoned.