Mexico selects Su-27?

Somehow I missed this piece of news from few weeks ago. I didn't even know the Mexican navy had a fighter competition between Sukhoi and the Gripen. It's interesting to note that the Mexican Navy's aircraft will be better than the Mexican Air Force.



Mexico selects Sukhoi Su-27 for strategic surveillance
The Mexican navy has selected Sukhoi’s Su-27 over the Saab/BAE Systems Gripen to equip its first air defence unit.

Head of the service Adm Armando Sánchez Moreno says the new fleet of 10 fighters will enable the navy to carry out “strategic surveillance” over key areas of Mexico’s coastline.

Preliminary selection work was initiated in early 2005, and the navy is now entering into contract negotiations with Russia’s Rosboronexport agency for the purchase of eight single-seat Su-27s and two Su-27UB two-seat trainers. Local sources indicate that the entire package – which also includes spare parts, tools and personnel training – is worth slightly over $410 million.

Main reasons for this purchase are Mexican inability to stop drug smuggling, use restrictions for American equipment (for example us didn’t allow UH-1H use in COIN operations) and Mexican Army control of Mexican Air Force (which should be rather called Mexican Army aviation corp. since its completely under army control.

Now since navy was usually unable to use air force F-5 for interceptions of low flying smuggling plains over Gulf of Mexico they managed to convince government to allow them to form navy fighter wing…
Sukhoi was ordered because Russia offered better price and because navy think that two engine fighters are more suited for maritime operations…

Interesting. I'm curious, what does the MAF operate?

Their main fighters is the the f-5E/F.They also have russian Mils flying alongside blackhawks. They also use c-130s along with boeings and antonovs.

MIGleader said:

Their main fighters is the the f-5E/F.They also have russian Mils flying alongside blackhawks. They also use c-130s along with boeings and antonovs.

Click to expand...

That's a small Air Force. I would expect the US to sell them some F-16s. Or Mexico to buy F-16s. Get second hand Block 15s and put them through the Mid-Life Upgrade.

At this point in time Mexico really doesn't have much of a need to be spending that kind of money on new fighter aircraft that it probably won't use in a real combat situation anyway. It has bigger problems to deal with, such as immigration, and drug trafficing.

Mexico just passed a bill making it legal for any mexican citizen to be in posession of 'small amounts' of virtually any type of illegal drug, Heroin, crack/cocaine, methampetamines and weed of course, they are trying to concentrate their efforts on the drug dealers and trafficers themselves. They do this because they can't afford what it takes to arrest and keep these people incarcerated for petty drug charges, of which represent more than 50% of the population that are in Mexico's jails and prisons.

Their pesos could be better spent elsewhere.

MrClean said:

At this point in time Mexico really doesn't have much of a need to be spending that kind of money on new fighter aircraft that it probably won't use in a real combat situation anyway. It has bigger problems to deal with, such as immigration, and drug trafficing.

Mexico just passed a bill making it legal for any mexican citizen to be in posession of 'small amounts' of virtually any type of illegal drug, Heroin, crack/cocaine, methampetamines and weed of course, they are trying to concentrate their efforts on the drug dealers and trafficers themselves. They do this because they can't afford what it takes to arrest and keep these people incarcerated for petty drug charges, of which represent more than 50% of the population that are in Mexico's jails and prisons.

Their pesos could be better spent elsewhere.

Click to expand...

The bill was stoped by the president, and rejected by the scandalized people; of course: the end of the story didn't show up in the US media, dind't make a story news. And the problem of migration responds to the law of offer and demand, better paid jobs and still hiring in the US.
We have jobs in Mexico, but less educated people can't get them, so they prefer to leave if they would do the same simple job anyway.

I detect some kind of paranoia because inmmediatly some US guys start saying, "they will buy a dozen of flankers, we could send a squadron of F-18s and take them down". or "they won't have nothing to do against our F-22s"; asuming that we will attack you for nothing. What are these guys afraid of?
I see that you are informed people and you would know that Cuba don't like our governement, and supports leftist leaders in México. Well, day after day Cuban Migs are violating Mexican airspace between Yucatan an Cuba, provoking Mexican surveillance planes. i Think this is the real reason for the Marina to buy the flankers. They can't explain it freely because local implications, and last but not least, 400 millions is cheap in an economy of more than a trillion dollars. Remember that México is the 10th economy, behind the G8, Russia and China.

I'm very surprised they went for Flankers. They're a maintenance nightmare! It's going to ruin the Mexican navy's budget. F-16s would have been a better option. A well-tested platform from you neighbor up north that's a reliable single-engined plane. And can still @$$! :nono:

Here's a web site (in Spanish) showing the current aircraft of Mexico's AF:


It looks like their only fighter aircraft is the F-5 E/F.

Mexico has a love/hate relationship with the US, but realistically, no enemies either. The US isn't going to invade Mexico, and Mexico is so far behind the US in military power that it's impossible to dispute territory with force. To the south, Belize and Guatemala are shrimps and offer no realistic threat. If a foreign power were to enter the region and threaten Mexico, the US will almost definately intervene on Mexico's behalf.

I agree with that, I think that the F-16 weren't choosen because of the range without external deposits, and i guess the only F-16 with fuselage expanded fuel deposit is the last block, wich won't be sold in Latin America.

México operates already a lot of Russian, Israeli and Brazilian equipment, from Antonovs and Mi-8s to Embraers and Aermachii, besides the American fixed and rotary wings.