China receives all Sukhoi Su-35 fighters ordered from Russia

Sukhoi Su-35 multi-role fighters of the PLAAF escorting a H-6K bomber near Taiwan on May 2018. Photo c/o Associated Press.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) received all 24 units of Sukhoi Su-35S “Flanker-E” multi-role fighter aircraft it ordered from Russia, based on reports from the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation.

China ordered 24 aircraft in a contract worth US$2.5 billion that was signed in 2015, and is the first export customer of the 4++ generation twin-engine long range fighter aircraft.

Its Ministry of National Defense (MND) previously confirmed that the first batch of Sukhoi Su-35 fighters entered service with the PLAAF as of April 2018.

 Aside from the aircraft, the PLAAF also received spare engines, support equipment, and training programs.

The PLAAF also reported that their Su-35 fleet will receive a full armaments suite from Russia, including the R-27 (AA-10 Alamo), R-73 (AA-11 Archer), and RVV family of air-to-air missiles, as well as the Kh-35E (AS-20 Kayak) anti-ship cruise missile.



[1] TASS
[2] The Diplomat
[3] Jane’s Defence Weekly