Combat aircraft

Talk of a Su-35 sale to China was met

with near disbelief in many reports,

and to this day little is actually known

other than that the  rst batch of

aircraft was delivered a few days after

Christmas 2016 and that two more

sets of deliveries followed in July and

December 2017, accounting for around

14 aircraft, with a further 10 expected to

arrive this year.

Until the recent exercise, it appeared

that the PLAAF was keen to keep a lid

on details of its newest  ghters. There

was an overall air of mystery around the

entire deal. However, there was Chinese

con rmation that the deal was worth

around $2 billion — equating to about

$83 million per aircraft — as the PLAAF

became the  rst export customer for

the type.

The Su-35 contracts represent the

most signi cant military aircraft deal

between Russia and China in recent

years, but there is no o cial word as to

why the Su-35s have been acquired in

addition to local ‘Flanker’ developments

such as the active electronically scanned

array (AESA) radar-equipped J-11D, or

even the indigenous J-20. Moreover, the

PLAAF engaged in its usual game of cat

and mouse with observers.

On delivery, the  rst four Su-35s

landed as expected at the PLAAF’s

Flight Test and Training Center (FTTC) at

Cangzhou-Cangxian, only to continue

further south after a brief fuel-stop. A

CHINESE SU-35

DETAILS REVEALED

I

N EARLY FEBRUARY 2018, a

surprising o cial announcement

marked not only a dramatic shift

in the balance of power in the

South China Sea but also a rare

o cial con rmation of activities

by the People’s Liberation Army Air

Force (PLAAF). The Chinese air arm

went on record to say it had deployed

several of its new Su-35 ‘Flankers’ for

a joint combat patrol mission in this

tense region.

Combat Aircraft has already reported

on China’s new Su-35s that originated

from a long-negotiated contract

that was  nally signed on November

19, 2015, with a second following in

January 2017.

One of the fi rst

PLAAF Su-35

images that broke

cover related

to February’s

deployment for

operations in the

South China Sea

region. All images

via Chinese

Internet

Right: Another

South China Sea

mission image.

Speculation has

raged that China

acquired the

Su-35s in order to

better understand

thrust-vectoring

controls.

24

AIR WARFARE BRIEFINGS

FROM THE ASIA-PACIFIC

BY ANDREAS RUPPRECHT

June 2018 // http://www.combataircraft.net

24-26 Eye on the East C.indd 24 20/04/2018 12:11