Chinese military exports to other countries
- Thread starter tphuang
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Russia is reportedly open to acquiring the J-35 naval fighter for future carrier-based operations, according to mainstream Russian daily Izvestia, per articles in both and dated July 11, 2025.
This story is wild, for a number of obvious reasons, and deserving of skepticism. However, it appears both the media outlet in question, Izvestia, and the expert they quoted, Ilya Kramnik, are reasonably credible.
is a Russian daily dating back to 1917, and considered a . This media outlet is moreover a subsidiary of Russia's JSC National Media Group, which is not only considered , but salient enough to be .
The Russian expert quoted by Izvestia was one , who is a at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), which is , and also the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), a Russian think tank and . Kramnik has also published multiple papers for RIAC's peer reviewed journal.
Now that we've reasonably confirmed the credentials of Kramnik and the backstory of Izvestia, and by extension the plausibility of the reporting, let's take a look at some of the more interesting chunks of this story :
Between the full scale war in Ukraine, and what appears to be the after eight years of limbo, no reasonable analyst expects the Russian Navy to christen a replacement carrier until the 2030s, at the absolute earliest. Likewise, it is unlikely the J-35 will enter Russian Naval Aviation service until then.
As such, whatever negotiations concerning the J-35 that may have already occured between the Russian authorities, and the PLA and/or CATIC were inevitably preliminary and/or informal, if even that.
However, the fact that a career Russian think tanker with visible ties to the Russian national security establishment has opened up about Russian interest in a Chinese stealth fighter and AWACS platform to an official-ish Russian mainstream media outlet is very telling, if not almost unprecedented in itself:
1. If Russian Naval Aviation does acquire the J-35, it's almost guaranteed Russian naval aviators will receive training aboard PLAN carriers.
Such a scenario could represent a significant milestone in Sino-Russian defense cooperation, should it materialize, and especially should it echo the Aeronavale's experience operating from USN CVNs.
2. Assuming Kramnik wasn't exaggerating Russian interest in the J-35 and KJ-600, once the war in Ukraine effectively concludes or reaches a sustainable armistice, how seriously would the VKS consider importing and/or having UAC locally assemble a J-35/A export derivative, or perhaps even Chinese AWACS and/or MALE/HALE UAV platforms, which the Russian aviation industry appear to struggle to crank out at the current juncture?
, if not since the mid-2010s. As such, progression to importing Chinese airframes and/or knockdown kits is plausible, if not arguably natural, especially once Russia is better positioned to prioritize the VKS.
Not particularly informed about the current status of the Su-57 and Su-75 programs, other than that they're significantly behind analogous Chinese programs. So could the immaturity of the Su-75 (and Su-57) platform(s) create an opportunity for exporting one or more members of the J-35/A family to Russia?
This story is wild, for a number of obvious reasons, and deserving of skepticism. However, it appears both the media outlet in question, Izvestia, and the expert they quoted, Ilya Kramnik, are reasonably credible.
is a Russian daily dating back to 1917, and considered a . This media outlet is moreover a subsidiary of Russia's JSC National Media Group, which is not only considered , but salient enough to be .
The Russian expert quoted by Izvestia was one , who is a at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), which is , and also the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), a Russian think tank and . Kramnik has also published multiple papers for RIAC's peer reviewed journal.
Now that we've reasonably confirmed the credentials of Kramnik and the backstory of Izvestia, and by extension the plausibility of the reporting, let's take a look at some of the more interesting chunks of this story :
Between the full scale war in Ukraine, and what appears to be the after eight years of limbo, no reasonable analyst expects the Russian Navy to christen a replacement carrier until the 2030s, at the absolute earliest. Likewise, it is unlikely the J-35 will enter Russian Naval Aviation service until then.
As such, whatever negotiations concerning the J-35 that may have already occured between the Russian authorities, and the PLA and/or CATIC were inevitably preliminary and/or informal, if even that.
However, the fact that a career Russian think tanker with visible ties to the Russian national security establishment has opened up about Russian interest in a Chinese stealth fighter and AWACS platform to an official-ish Russian mainstream media outlet is very telling, if not almost unprecedented in itself:
1. If Russian Naval Aviation does acquire the J-35, it's almost guaranteed Russian naval aviators will receive training aboard PLAN carriers.
Such a scenario could represent a significant milestone in Sino-Russian defense cooperation, should it materialize, and especially should it echo the Aeronavale's experience operating from USN CVNs.
2. Assuming Kramnik wasn't exaggerating Russian interest in the J-35 and KJ-600, once the war in Ukraine effectively concludes or reaches a sustainable armistice, how seriously would the VKS consider importing and/or having UAC locally assemble a J-35/A export derivative, or perhaps even Chinese AWACS and/or MALE/HALE UAV platforms, which the Russian aviation industry appear to struggle to crank out at the current juncture?
, if not since the mid-2010s. As such, progression to importing Chinese airframes and/or knockdown kits is plausible, if not arguably natural, especially once Russia is better positioned to prioritize the VKS.
Not particularly informed about the current status of the Su-57 and Su-75 programs, other than that they're significantly behind analogous Chinese programs. So could the immaturity of the Su-75 (and Su-57) platform(s) create an opportunity for exporting one or more members of the J-35/A family to Russia?
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I read this not necessarily as "Russian interest", but rather "limited Russian options", which they are completely correct about regarding the latter.
The mention of "purchasable AWAC deck aircraft" is very interesting. Such lighthearted reference could indicate the KJ-600 has the potential for export, something we are not aware of.
Russia building a new aircraft carrier for distant power projection just isn't credible.
They'll have to focus on a potential European land war, against a much larger NATO as the adversary.
So that means the Army and Air Force take priority.
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From a MIC perspective, I think Russia should be able to sustain an independent fighter programme.
Russia is significantly larger than France, yet France thinks it can develop a 6th gen fighter (FCAS) by itself.
The Su-57 is already a 5+ generation airframe. They just need to modernize the systems and engines. There used to be plans for a Su-57K carrier deck fighter as well.
A lot of people in Russia have mentioned buying Chinese ships in the past. Purchases of Chinese equipment might well happen in the future.
A lot of people in Russia have mentioned buying Chinese ships in the past. Purchases of Chinese equipment might well happen in the future.
On airframe kinematic performance then probably yes. However they will have to refurbish the whole design including but not only a new bent engine inlet to hide the fan blades. A solid Su57m design should be able to work in the future. The Su-75 on the otherhand is still somewhat imaginary at this point.
Russians are known to be interested in J-16 style upgrades for Su-30SM/Su-35.
Russia has had GaN radar modules for years already. I would be surprised if the Su-57M will not have these. While Russia are behind China in this, both technology and production, I doubt they would import modules for high end platforms. They don't want to be dependent on a supply which can be cut.
The technology is meaningless if there isn't enough real production volume involved. As Su35s new from the factory have yet been fitted with AESA radar the actual production capabilities is in serious doubt.