The growing number of decommissioned aircraft and other large-scale transportation systems intensifies the demand for efficient and energy-saving recycling technologies. Conventional thermal cutting methods, such as oxy-fuel, plasma, and laser cutting, are associated with high energy consumption and changes in the microstructure at the cut edges, which reduce the quality of secondary raw materials. This study explores an alternative approach based on the interaction of supersonic high-temperature gas jets with aluminum alloy sheets. The jets were generated in the combustion chamber of a low-thrust rocket engine using a compressed air + hydrocarbon fuel mixture, and the primary parameter considered was the material breakdown time. The results revealed distinct interaction regimes, whose occurrence depends on the combination of thermo-gas-dynamic jet parameters, thickness, and material properties. Metallographic analysis confirmed that softening and brittle fracture can occur without reaching the melting temperature. An empirical relationship was also proposed for predicting the cutting velocity under breakdown conditions, providing a basis for process optimization. The findings establish a novel energy-efficient method of aluminum alloy fragmentation under supersonic gas jet action and extend the classification of thermal cutting methods by introducing cutting by softening. This approach has significant potential for recycling aerospace structures and for adaptation to in-situ resource utilization in extraterrestrial environments.