Three nations, Algeria, Egypt and Indonesia, are reported to have pulled out of Su-35 fighter jet deals with Russia giving a huge financial setbacks to Sukhoi Design Bureau.
The governments of Algeria, Egypt and Indonesia have rejected the acquisition of Russian Su-35 fighters amid economic sanctions against Russia, as first reported by Defence Blog.
The economic sanctions have targeted Russia’s oil industry, defence, dual-use goods and sensitive technologies imports from the USA, Europe and Israel.
This has caused a block on the import of modern components required to manufacture the Su-35 fighters; in particular, there has been a failure to replace scanned array radar and avionics.
There have been multiple reports of Algerian plans to acquire the Su-35; however, it now appears the nation plans to upgrade its Su-30MKAs with Su-35 technologies while waiting to acquire the more advanced Su-57.
The Egyptian Air Force was set to become the first customer for the Su-35 in the Middle East area; however, concerns have been raised regarding the capabilities of the Su-35’s Irbis-E radar.
According to Taghvaei, Sukhoi intended to deliver the aircraft to Egypt after the country had placed an order for Su-35s in 2018. Recently, the deal was dropped, with pressure from the US cited as the reason.
Russia has also been conducting talks with Indonesia, which expressed interest in the aircraft. In December 2021, Indonesia also terminated its talk on Su-35.
Algeria, another customer that placed an order for the aircraft in 2016, was reported to have dropped it by early January 2021.
According to Iranian military expert Babak Taghvaei, negotiations between Iran and Russia are yet to reach a conclusion, and could go either way. The Iranian Air Force is reportedly strapped for cash and may not be able to procure the funding required to pay for the aircraft.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Air Force Air Chief Marshal, Fadjar Prasetyo, confirmed that the nation planned to abandon the Su-35 deal. The nation is supposedly now considering the Dassault Rafale and the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II.
It is important to note that government officials from Egypt and Algeria have not yet confirmed their position.
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