The Sukhoi Su-35 is the top Russian air superiority fighter in service today.
It will remain so until Russia succeeds
in bringing its fifth-generation Su-57 stealth fighter into serial production.
The Su-35 is an evolution of the Su-27 Flanker, a late Cold War design
intended to match the F-15 in concept. In January 2016, Russia made the first
combat deployment of the Su-35 when it sent a fleet of four aircraft to Syria.
It was earlier thought that the platform would be lapped up by other nations.
But Russia which is greatly dependent on weapons export
and is also keeping no stones unturned to pitch Su-35 is unable to find buyers.
This is mainly due to the technological shortcomings as well as American sanctions.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why three countries have back-out on Su-35 fighter deals?
Let's get started.
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Egypt, which ordered a fleet of Su-35s for $2 billion in 2018,
has reversed its decision to acquire at least two dozen of these fighters.
It seems Cairo has backed out of the deal due to the fear of Countering America's
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) which obligates the imposition of U.S. sanctions
against any country that makes large arms acquisitions from Russian defense companies.
But there is more to the story.
The military aviation author,
historian, and journalist, Tom Cooper believes it's a "combination of factors."
Cooper noted that the Egyptians already "swallowed a bitter pill"
when they previously sought the Su-30 but got the MiG-29M2 instead.
He stated, "The Russians promised to re-equip the latter with Active Electronically Scanned Array
or AESA radars, but years have passed, and nothing happened"
He added, "Then they ordered Su-35s,
only to find out this is equipped with Passive Electronically Scanned Array or PESA radar,
and they would have to wait for years (and pay even more) for the Russians to develop
a suitable AESA radar, on top of this, they then ran a test, apparently using the first 2-3 Su-35s
delivered to Egypt, against their Rafales, and it turned out the Su-35's PESA is simply no match."
Egypt recently tested the Su-35’s Irbis-E radar against the electronic countermeasure system
of one of its Rafale jets and, in Cooper’s words, "the latter easily overpowered the former."
In February 2018 the Indonesian Defense Ministry had announced a $1.1 billion contract
for the acquisition of 11 Russian Su-35 heavyweight fighters,
with deliveries expected to begin by the end of 2019 and additional purchases considered likely.
But the deal was abandoned. The move was confirmed by Indonesian
Air Force Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo while speaking to the local media in Jakarta.
He was quoted in January by BenarNews as saying: “Regarding the Sukhoi Su-35, with a heavy heart,
yes, we have abandoned that plan. We can’t just keep talking about it.”
Indonesia is now moving to upgrade its aging air force fleet
with multi-billion dollar orders from France and the United States.
The agreement for 42 French Rafale fighters has been announced which is worth $8.1 bn.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration also approved the $13.9 bn sales of the F-15 advanced fighter
jets, engines and related equipment, including munitions and communications systems to Indonesia.
While some reports point to CAATSA, Jakarta’s initial order for the jets
was made in early 2018, at least six months after CAATSA became law.
There are murmurs that Su-35 was evaluated to be technically inferior to Western options.
Algeria, which is a major buyer of Russian jets and other military hardware for a long time
decided not to buy the Su-35 because it was dissatisfied by the fact that the aircraft
still has a PESA rather than an AESA radar system.
Earlier reports in Russian media indicated that negotiations were at an advanced stage.
Among the official reasons for this refusal is that Algeria plans to strengthen its air force
in other ways which include the retrofitting of its current fleet of Su-30MKA fighters
with AL-41 engine and Irbis-E radar, as well as the possible purchase of a Russian Su-57.
But the main reason for this deal to be abandoned is the absence of AESA radar.
AESA is a more advanced, sophisticated versatile second-generation version
of the original PESA phased array technology.
PESA can only emit a single beam of radio waves at a single frequency at a time.
The PESA must utilize a Butler matrix if multiple beams are required.
The AESA can radiate multiple beams of radio waves at multiple frequencies simultaneously and brings
back more valuable information to its user. AESA radars can spread their signal emissions
across a wider range of frequencies, which makes them more difficult to
detect over background noise, allowing ships and aircraft to radiate powerful radar signals
while still remaining stealthy, as well as being more resistant to jamming.
Also, most frontline western fighters Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon have AESA radar.