Pentagon selling aviation history

By Steve James

NEW YORK (Reuters) - From the Cold War to the space race, from Vietnam to Iraq, the U.S. military is selling bits and pieces of its aviation history.

In 16-square-inch (100-sq-cm) bits and pieces, to be precise.

Around 2,000 obsolete warplanes and other aircraft owned by the U.S. Defense Department will go on a virtual auction block next week as the Pentagon takes advantage of a boom in scrap metal prices to make some money.

The three-day, online auction of 27 million pounds (12.25 million kg) of scrap is expected to fetch approximately 36 cents per pound, or between $9 million and $10 million, said Tom Burton, president of Government Liquidation, a subsidiary of Liquidity Services Inc, which is conducting the sale.

"The market is so robust right now for all scrap metal," he told Reuters in a telephone interview from Arizona. "We are very fortunate, timing is everything."

Since 2005, the price of most metals has risen, driven by demand from China, India and other developing economies.

Copper, which is selling for almost $4 per pound, could be bought for 60 cents per pound four years ago. Steel and aluminum prices are on the rise and scrap metal, an ingredient for many steelmakers, is at record highs.

The Defense Department has been parking old planes in "the boneyard" on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. There are about 4,200 hulls, some up to 50 years old, and they have been cannibalized for parts over the years.