Should Russia sell Su-35 to China?

litwin · Mar 31, 2012

Russia is reportedly close to finalizing a major sale of advanced fighter aircraft to China worth $4 billion. Such a sale, newsworthy in itself, would have been hard to imagine as recently as a few years ago considering the history of previous agreements.

The anticipated deal, first reported by Kommersant, sees the two sides practically agreed on the delivery of 48 Su-35 multirole fighters, worth $4 billion, to China. Some reports suggest that Chinese officials have dismissed talk of such a deal. But if true, an agreement like this would certainly make sense for Beijing, giving China access to an advanced fighter. The Su-35 or NATO Flanker-E + is described as a 4++ generation (fighter) using fifth-generation technology. The fighter is armed with 30-millimeter cannons and has 12 points of suspension for suspension of arms, including missiles and bombs.

Russia, having lost out in Indias MMRCA fighter competition to French competitor Rafale, would for its part gain an important new military contract. But it seems like Moscow also has much to lose through the sale. After all, purely business considerations aside, Russia is said to have been stung before after selling China advanced aircraft.

And theres another question raised by the reported deal why would China want to procure advanced 4th generation fighters when its developing a 5th generation plane, the J-20, which is believed to have stealth capabilities?

A look into the recent past offers some possible answers.

The last major aircraft deal between Russia and China involved the SU-27 flanker in the 1990s. Moscow hadnt sold major weapons systems to Beijing since the so-called Sino-Soviet split, when a rise in tensions sparked border clashes in 1969.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Russian arms industry was struggling to survive. Brimming with modern weaponry that could help the Chinese leap generations in equipment and technology, a partnership was seen as benefitting both nations. In 1992, China placed an order for the Su-27, paying $1 billion for 24 turn-key aircraft.....In 1996, Beijing paid $2.5 billion for a license to build an additional 200 Su-27s at the Shenyang Aircraft Company in China. The agreement had a very important stipulation. The Chinese version of the SU-27, renamed the J-11, would include imported and highly-advanced Russian avionics, radars and engines. The aircraft couldnt be exported, presumably protecting Russia from competition in the international arms market from their own technology.

The deal would not, however, see completion. After the building of 100 or so jets, China canceled the contract in 2004. As The Diplomat security analyst Richard Weitz has noted, Beijing claimed the aircraft no longer met its specifications. Three years later, China seemed to have fully broken the agreement when it would demonstrate the aircraft, the J-11B, on state TV. The plane looks extremely similar to the Su-27. The Chinese deny allegations of copying the craft, claiming that it used 90 percent indigenous parts and that it utilizes better Chinese avionics and radar equipment.

So what would be Chinas motivation to purchase new planes from Russia now? Some have argued that maybe all is not well with Chinas cloned craft. Vasily Kashin, an expert at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies speaking with Kommersant, felt the willingness to buy such a large batch of fighter jets indicates that the Chinese are faced with serious technical problems during the work on the modification of its aircraft that are based on the Su-27.....
Click to expand...

a strange deal...

raymondo · Apr 3, 2012

Strange that anybody would by any sort of plane made in Russia .
Their main claim to fame is the ease with which they fall out of the sky .
Worst safety record in the world for passenger aircraft . Worse even than the democratic Republic of Congo !!
Are you sure this order is not for children's toys?

s002wjh · Apr 11, 2012

its bogus. china government said the purchase of su35 is untrue.

litwin · Apr 14, 2012

raymondo said: ↑

Strange that anybody would by any sort of plane made in Russia .
Their main claim to fame is the ease with which they fall out of the sky .
Worst safety record in the world for passenger aircraft . Worse even than the democratic Republic of Congo !!
Are you sure this order is not for children's toys?
Click to expand...

At the end of the kill-chain, it seems, prima facie, that the Su-35S has all the ‘right stuff’ for air combat, while the F-35 JSF does not. This should come as no surprise, because the design brief for the JSF was that the F-22A would ‘sanitise’ airspace and deliver air dominance, making it safe for the Joint STRIKE Fighter to deliver follow-up strike capabilities.

Now that the F-22A Raptor program is being terminated with insufficient aircraft to deliver air dominance, this role is now being assigned to the F-35 JSF.

Given the intent of the OSD to employ the F-35 Joint Strike fighter as an air dominance fighter, the fundamental and unanswered question is:

HOW
Click to expand...

from your "country"
http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-forum/64364-f-35jsf-vs-su-35s-comparison.html

Log in or Sign up

Should Russia sell Su-35 to China?

litwin Well-Known Member

raymondo Banned

s002wjh Well-Known Member

litwin Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Should Russia sell Su-35 to China?

litwin Well-Known Member

raymondo Banned

s002wjh Well-Known Member

litwin Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches