UAE dismantles plane of gunrunner Russia wants for Americans

The hulking, Soviet-era cargo plane has sat for decades under the blazing sun in a remote corner of the United Arab Emirates, its four jet engines silent after years in the employ of a Russian gunrunner known as the “Merchant of Death.”

But instead of a missile or gunfire finally taking out this Ilyushin Il-76 tied to arms smuggler Viktor Bout, the plane appears to be doomed, destined for scrap to make way for a force more powerful in this federation of seven sheikhdoms: Luxury real estate.

The emirate of Umm al-Quwain plans a $675 million development on a island just across a lagoon from the deactivated airport where Bout's plane sits.


His legacy, however, lives on even as workers disassemble the aircraft's wings — Bout is in the news again as Russia has suggested America trade him for U.S. citizens held by Moscow amid its war on Ukraine.