Russia agrees to sell China 24 Su-35 fighters in US$1.5bn deal Staff Reporter 2012-11-22 12:36 (GMT+8)

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Russia agrees to sell China 24 Su-35 fighters in US$1.5bn deal
Staff Reporter 2012-11-22 12:36 (GMT+8)

Hu Jintao meets Sergey Shoygu in Beijing on Nov. 21. (Photo/Xinhua)

The Russian defense minister, Sergey Shoygu, finally approved the sale of 24 advanced Su-35BM fighters to China during his visit to Beijing in a deal worth US$1.5 billion, reports the Moscow-based business daily Vedomosti.

Moscow had been hesitant to sell the supermaneuverable multirole fighter to China fearing that it would be copied by Chinese engineers. When China first requested to purchase four Su-35BMs, Russia demanded that China buy at least 48 of them. After China bought 26 Su-27SK fighters from Russia between 1991 and 1996, the fighter was used by the PLA Air Force as a blueprint to develop its own J-11. Russia subsequently rejected the sale of Su-33 carrier-based fighters to China. To design the J-15 fighter intended for use with its aircraft carrier Liaoning, China eventually obtained a single Su-33 from Ukraine.

A source close to the leadership of the Russian Federal Military and Technical Cooperation Service told Vedomosti that a preliminary agreement was finally reached after Shoygu met with Hu Jintao, the Chinese president and Xu Qiliang, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. Under the agreement, China will purchase 24 Su-35BM aircraft equipped with the 117S engine designed by NPO Saturn. The engine was displayed at the recent Zhuhai Airshow in Guangdong province.

A report from the Voice of Russia suggested Moscow should drastically cut back exports of the nation's hi-tech military equipment to China in near future to prevent the Chinese from reverse engineering its advanced fighters, which it could then sell on to other countries.

References:

Hu Jintao 胡錦濤

Xu Qiliang　　許其亮