Delivery of Su-35S to China Completed by Russia: Reports

By IndraStra Global News Team

By IndraStra Global News Team

Image Attribute: PLAAF's Su-35S flying over the South China Sea / Source: Local Chinese Media

According to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND), Russia has completed the delivery of 24 Sukhoi Su-35 'Flanker-E' multirole fighter aircraft to China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The same information has been confirmed by an official from Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) to TASS on April 16.

“In compliance with the contract, all the Su-35 planes have been delivered to the foreign customer,” the Federal Service said.

In 2015, Russia and China signed a US$ 2.5 billion deal on the delivery of 24 Sukhoi Su-35s, making it the first foreign buyer of the fourth-generation (4++) multirole air superiority fighter. Last year in September, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on China's Equipment Development Department (EDD), the branch of the Chinese military responsible for weapons and equipment, and its director, Li Shangfu, for engaging in "significant transactions" with Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms exporter. Simultaneously, sanctions were imposed on Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO), as well as other entities, under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA), over the sale of military hardware, including the 10 SU-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018. 

Russian defense conglomerate Rostec had previously been quoted as saying that China had received the first 4 Su-35 platforms in 2016 and a further 10 in December 2017. The last batch was expected to be delivered in December 2018.

The Su-35S is a single-seat, twin-engine, fourth-generation (4++) multirole air superiority fighter jet performed its debut flight on February 19, 2008. The aircraft made its international debut at the 2013 Paris Air Show. 

The Su-35S is designed by Sukhoi and built by KnAAPO. It is a derivative of the Su-27. The Su-35S weighs 19 tonnes, has a service ceiling of 20,000 meters, and can reach a maximum speed of 2,500 km/h. The fighter jet’s armament includes a 30mm aircraft gun, up to 8 tonnes of the weapon payload (missiles and bombs of various types) on 12 underwing hardpoints. The Su-35S has been in service with the Russian Army since 2015.

In April 2018, MND has that the Su-35 had officially entered service with the PLAAF.

Image Attribute: Su-35 (11930740073) by Dmitry Terekhov from Odintsovo, Russian Federation / Source: Wikimedia Commons

OTHER INTERNATIONAL BUYERS (in the pipeline)

According to various media reports emerged in early 2018, Indonesia is the second foreign buyer of Su-35S. Russia had signed a contract with Indonesia on the delivery of 11 fighters. The delivery may begin in 2019, Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi told TASS on March 25.

Sometime in the last year, Russia and Egypt reached a US$ 2 billion agreement for the sale of Su-35S. The information related to the deal remained undisclosed until March 2019. Deliveries are expected to commence in 2020-2021.

In a rarity, Egyptian Air Force (EAF) operates both western and Russian aircraft which includes - 240 Lockheed Martin F-16s received between 1982 and 2013, 24 Dassault Rafale fighters, 46 Russian MiG-29Ms, of which deliveries are ongoing. Now, with the Su-35 order, the EAF is going to have three new types of fourth-generation fighters in service.