Brazil, Russia in talks on delivery of Su-35 fighter planes
BBC Monitoring Latin America, December 5, 2003
Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax-AVN web site
Moscow, 5 December: Moscow hosted another round of negotiations aimed at
signing a contract for delivering Su-35 Flanker fighters developed by the Sukhoi
aircraft holding company to Brazil, a source in the Russian defence industry
told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday 5 December ..
“During its visit to Moscow, the Brazilian delegation headed by the
Brazilian defence minister discussed the feasibility of signing a contract on
delivering Russian aircraft to Brazil. At the same time, the Brazilian side
expressed its interest in establishing an efficient after-sale maintenance
system, should the contract be signed, as the expected service life of Russian
aircraft exceeds 30 years,” the source said. According to him, the Russian side
convinced the Brazilians that there were capabilities for setting up the
required efficient post-deal maintenance system. “The negotiations will proceed
in another format,” the source said. The Sukhoi company intends to continue its
participation in the multi-role fighter tender, issued to Brazil.
The Su-35 Flanker is competing against the French Mirage 2000, the US F-16,
the Swedish Grippen and the Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum. Russia offered Brazil
comprehensive deliveries of the Su-35 multi-role fighter with all the necessary
equipment, as well as a corresponding offset programme. The aircraft had been
developed in compliance with requirements of the Brazilian air force. The Su-35
is mass produced at the Komsomolsk-na-Amure aircraft production association.
According to unofficial sources, Brazil planned to procure 24 multi-role
fighters, with about 750m dollars allocated to this end. However, experts
believe that the number of aircraft procured will most likely be reduced down to
12-18. Thus, the cost of the overall contract will also decrease.
The Su-35 multi-role fighter is a further improvement of the Su-27 family.
It boasts better aerodynamics, a new control system, increased radar
capabilities, and a capability of engaging ground targets. The Su-35, fitted
with an active phased-array radar, is capable of detecting and tracking up to 20
targets, and engaging eight of them simultaneously.
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