That’s bigger deal than Palmira.
It destroy credibility of standing with allies.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-backed-kurdish-forces-agree-hand-over-key-area-syrian-government-2116188328
Manbij Military Council, part of the SDF, says it will hand over defence of areas west of Manbij to protect civilians, in deal brokered by Russia

you can’t make a flatted Su-35. you can only make it fatter. like F35 fatter than F16. Try to flat a F18 and see what happens.

Is A-50EI Chinese in PLAAF?. they may have upgraded now but original 4 all come from Russia and that was well known since 1999.

i have serious doubt Finland has any value left to grab it. Its getting technologically backward with overpriced standard of living. if Russia try to grab it its population will simply flee further west. Its happening to Ukraine also.
Military and space technology has been advancing fast enough that no on the ground control necessary to control the countries.

Russia more interested in Middleast where quick money can made without so much protest

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-rosneft-kurdistan-idUSKBN1600L6
Rosneft becomes first oil major to pre-finance Kurdish crude

If you have a 7,000km range missile, why do you need a plane to carry it?

Plane loiter in air and use it’s superior sensors to take out targets of wide variety they could be ships in sea or fighters on runway.

Bombs are far more cost- and weight/volume-efficient than missiles. You only need enough range on the munitions to keep outside detection radius. The point of a VLO platform is that it allows you to get closer to the target so you can throw more explosives at it, rather than having to stand-off with a mere handful of expensive cruise missiles with small warheads.

Bombs are cost effective if airbase is near to theatre and allies on ground are reliable enough to support that airbase.

This entire Russia/UAE 5th generation thing does have a bit of “Deja Vu”:

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/release/9926/eads,-uae-develop-mako-program-(may-10).html

[ATTACH=CONFIG]251631[/ATTACH]

why would they invest in that kind of project considering the overprice and unreliability of EU products. In the 90s it was understandable they go with Western projects as they recognized Taliban and had role in 9/11 but now things very different.

These are very public signals to them where to invest there money ahead of time to cater to Asian tourists. and with pace of Russian military procurement and willingness to use force. Russia will demand a lot more more.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/755963/Paris-violent-crime-terror-Chinese-tourists-number-down
‘We’d rather go to Moscow’ Paris becomes tourist no-go zone after wave of crime and terror
Russian capital Moscow is now seen as a safer destination for China’s wealthy holidaymakers and a weaker pound is making a UK visit good value for money.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-approves-issuing-of-visa-on-arrival-for-russian-citizens-661377.html
UAE approves issuing of ‘visa on arrival’ for Russian citizens

This agreement is a political plot to set pressure on the USA to sell the F-35; nothing more.

I doubt they are that interested in F35 at any price. The Yemen war with western equipment/support opened there eyes. They are now replacing expensive western labor with cheaper eastern. that will free up a lot more resources .

https://www.ft.com/content/2d7401f8-ec8f-11e6-930f-061b01e23655
Expats take flight as Abu Dhabi tightens purse strings

Do You really think that ..

– Russia/MiG can develop a fifth generation type based on the MiG-29/-35 ??

Yes but my personal opinion MIG should concentrate on 6Th generation fighter that can fly higher and faster than MIG31.

– UAE can found the development of yet another fifth generation bird (besides TFX, KFX, FC-31, AMCA; … did I miss anyone?); alone and even more without any industrial base by now ?

The rest of so called 5G fighters that you mentioned are complete joke. Both China and Korea are facing aging population with mountain of debt. UAE has no such problem. Infact UAE barely 2m local population and trillions in assets across the world provide them with reliable income. Money and technical ability are the least of problem for this project.
There plenty of projects and wars that UAE can fund with Russia. Libya is first test. Rearming Egypt with Russian weopons. funding ports and pipelines to connect to Asia.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170222-russia-and-libya-sign-new-oil-deal/
Russia and Libya sign new oil deal

Some guys are really funny.
Deino

yes. we have seen it here.

What I do find ironic is how in Western capitals they condemn ISIS and their wholesale looting and destruction of Islamic and Persian architecture yet they don’t mention the Saudis wholesale destruction of irreplaceable historical architecture in Mecca and Medina!

unless West do fundamental restructuring of its societies and political system. West will need more and more of Saudi money. and that is even before Trump economic damage. it is very essential to be dominant Military power in Middleast.

http://www.dw.com/en/opinion-rwe-is-an-energy-bad-bank/a-37676387
With a loss of 5.7 billion euros for the past business year, RWE is now serious contender in the record-losses sweepstakes that major German corporations appear to have been engaged in lately. Volkswagen reported a 5.5 billion euro net loss last year, whilst Deutsche Bank had to absorb a 6.7 billion euro loss

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-16/audi-china-dealers-seek-4-billion-in-compensation-from-carmaker
Audi China Dealers Demand $4 Billion to Cover Sales Losses