China wants to make Su-35 clones?

Seems like the SU-35 would be very beneficial for the PLAAF in modernizing its Flankers after all the slow upgrades its J-11s are facing

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http://www.china.org.cn/world/2012-08/30/content_26380644.htm

China may buy at least 48 S-35 jets

By He Shan
2 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, August 30, 2012

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China and Russia are negotiating contracts regarding the acquisition of Russian Su-35 fighter jets, according to deputy director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of Russia Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, the Global Times reported Wednesday.

A file photo of a Russian Su-35 fighter jet.

The contract mainly focuses on the number of jets that China can purchase, the nation would preferably acquire in between 48 and 50 of them, whereas Russian concerns lie more with the risk of leaked expertise secrets.

In the long run, Russia may resume its supply of air defense arms including that of S-400s to China. Moreover, China may also become the first overseas buyer of the Ilyushin Il-476, a multi-purpose four-engine strategic airlifter designed by the Ilyushin design bureau. If the two countries continue the terms and conditions in their contract of 34 Ilyushin Il-76s and four Ilyushin Il-78s, which was inked in 2005, the amount of money involved will reach billions of U.S. dollars.

Analysts believe that China’s rise as a global power has provided Russia with new opportunitiesn the fields of military and political cooperation between the two countries.

Russia took up a second spot for world arms sales in 2011, according to the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) think tank. The nation’s annual arms exports doubled over the past six years, from US$6 billion in 2005 to over US$13 billion in 2011, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in July.

In 2011, Russia sold nearly US$2 billion worth of weapons to China, accounting for 15 percent of Russia’s total arms exports.
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from earlier this month on Flight global
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/asian-skies/2012/04/surprise-that-china-su-35-deal.html

Surprise! That China Su-35 deal is on hold

By
Greg Waldron
on April 18, 2012 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) |ShareThis
su-35.jpg

I was amused to read the Ria Novosti report that the China Sukhoi Su-35 deal is in trouble. Apparently the Russians want to sell China a large number of aircraft, while China would prefer just a handful. And so an impasse ensues.

“We have been promoting the Su-35 fighter on the Chinese market,” Rosoboronexport deputy chief Viktor Komardin is reported as saying. “However, China only wants to buy a limited number [of aircraft] whereas we want [to sell] a large consignment to make [the deal] economically viable.”

In this instance, how does one define ‘economically viable’? The cynical part of me suggests that China wants to buy a handful (hints of Su-33?) and then reverse engineer the aircraft, eventually producing a Chinese clone, a follow on fighter to the J-11. This is economically viable for China, but not exactly ideal for Russia.

On the other hand, Russia would greatly benefit from a big Su-35 production run for China, lowering the cost per unit across the board.

Though China appears to have dug its heels in, I will be very curious to see how this proposed sale moves forward. If Beijing feels confident enough in its indigenous capabilities, perhaps it will indeed give the Su-35 a miss.

Otherwise, perhaps Beijing will back off a bit, wait a sufficiently face-saving amount of time, and then eventually agree to buy a larger number of Su-35s with a significant portion produced in Russia. In this case it would get the aircraft and technology transfer it needs, but at a substantially higher price.

It is worth remembering that in 2010, before Beijing surprised everyone with the appearance of the supposedly ‘Fifth Generation’ J-20, an alleged Chinese spy was caught smuggling parts for the MiG-29 and Su-27 across the Russo-Chinese border. Another similar heist was attempted in 2009 at the same checkpoint.

Such incidents would appear to suggest that China would be very interested indeed in the secrets of the Su-35.