Russia supplies Su-35s to China

The PLA Air Force took delivery of the first batch of Sukhoi Su-35 ‘Flanker-E’ fighters from Russia in late December 2016, having a year earlier signed a $2 billion contract with Russia for the acquisition of 24 Su-35s, following more than five years of onagain, off-again negotiations for the aircraft. This recent agreement amounts to the lifting of a 2006 moratorium on high-tech weapons exports to Beijing, implemented amid accusations that China had “reverse-engineered” Russian equipment such as the Su-27 fighter.

It is opined by experts on Chinese military aviation and industry that one of the reasons China is keen on acquiring the Su-35 is to access modern Russian engine technology in the form of the Saturn AL-41F1S (117S) after burning turbofan engine and the associated thrust-vectoring capability of the super-maneuverable Su-35. China has been trying to develop its own indigenous fighter jet engine for several years, but the programme has been dogged by technical problems. China’s stealthy Chengdu J-20, single-engine Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-15 carrier borne fighters are still powered by Russia’s Saturn AL-31 engine.

It is felt by US analysts that such Russian arms sales to China are threatening US air superiority. “In Chinese hands, Russian weapons such as the S-400 surface-to-air missile system, thought to be among the world’s best, and the fourth generation Su-35 fighter jet could have significant consequences for the United States”, said the study by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which is appointed by Congress.