Chinese purchase of Su-35

we are friends who like aircraft and already is difficult to translate from Russian which is a language foreign to both of us, so do not worry it happens:)
for comparison the price of Su-34 for the Russian Air Force is about one billion Rubles which is about 15 million USD ... but I promised I won't post here anymore, so, again, I'm sorry, over, out.
 

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
for comparison the price of Su-34 for the Russian Air Force is about one billion Rubles which is about 15 million USD ... but I promised I won't post here anymore, so, again, I'm sorry, over, out.

You can't leave school, now get back to your desk and re-work that problem and show me your work before I rap you good with my "METER STIK", (now you know why I hate metrics), gave teachers a longer reach to whop you!

Get back in formation!
 

delft

Brigadier
You can't leave school, now get back to your desk and re-work that problem and show me your work before I rap you good with my "METER STIK", (now you know why I hate metrics), gave teachers a longer reach to whop you!

Get back in formation!
OT
Were you hit in school with a STIK that was only a YARD ( = 0.9144 metre ) long? I'm too young to have been hit with a stick in school.
 

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
It seems that the majority of members here has accepted the Su-35 deal as a fact due to the recent words from the Chinese MOD spokeperson.
The wording was something like "a milestone has been reached in regards to the Su-35 cooperation". This sounds familiar to what was said before in other occations which didn't come out with a contract. So what is new this time? Nobody denies there is negotiation ongoing, that is what the mentioned cooperation is about, a milestone actually means the final goal, a contract, has not reached. So I don't see how this time it becomes a fact.

taxiya staring at the gun barrels in front of the fire-squard.
 

tphuang

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
VIP Professional
Registered Member
I personally think there's many reasons to Su35 purchase, but mainly for tech transfers. But hold your horses before you get angry and attack me with your keyboard:)D), let me explain.

By tech transfer, I don't mean hand down or help to start, like China is to Pakistan, but more like UK/US in JSF program, I know a little more about this, you know a little more about that. China did advance in leaps and bounds in recent years, but decades of Soviet expertise is still useful. There must be some techs and even small tips from decades of sheer experiences, being used in Su35 that China still can learn from. In this case, many of those things can be transferred onto domestic models, like using airframe and avionic tech for J20/J16, engine tech from 117S for WS10/15, maybe even weapon tech for domestic Chinese weapons. It doesn't mean that China has to copy the whole engine or solely rely on Russians for engine production.

Another reason would be the relative low cost to its price. Currently Russian economy is hurting; and really hurting. So Russia would have to and it did, sell the plane at a very low price. According to RT, they're priced at only 83 million each, which is pretty cheap for a plane of this caliber. This is not much more than making them yourself, so why not take advantage of it. It's almost like buying the planes at cost and getting the tech transfer as a free bonus.

The third reason would probably be a geopolitical one. China wants to help Russia financially, so it could keep attracting all the heat from the West, instead of giving the West time to think about how to contain China.

That's just my two cents.
Your last 2 points have nothing to do with tech transfers and they are along the line of China throwing Russia a bone. 83 million is a lot of money. It's more than twice what China pays for J-10.
J-20 and J-16 airframes have already been developed. They can't use Su-35 anymore. Chinese avionics is ahead of Russia, so they don't need ToT for Russian avionics, although I suppose Irbis is a quality radar, so it helps to study its design. China already have access to all the Russian weapons, which missiles haven't got they got their hands on? The major piece of tech they look for Su-35 is 117S. Su-35 to China is an interim solution and they've good experience in the past signing deals with Russia and getting quick deliveries. Like Su-30MKK project, I'm sure they've spend a long time discussing every bit of details on what they want on Su-35. I would be surprised if they don't start getting it in the next 2 years.
 

discspinner

Junior Member
Registered Member
one reason that has not been mentioned is actually straightforward deterrance, and in fact it is surprising why China had not signed the deal earlier (perhaps Chinese knew the production schedule and were waiting for an opportune time to sign)

*** by purchasing the Su-35 for itself, it reduces / tempers the possibility of rivals such as India and Vietnam purchasing in significant numbers, while also acquiring knowledge of the full capabilities of the Su-35 if they were to go into those hands***
 
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