Su-35 Fighters Delivered To China

Russia has completed deliveries of 24 Sukhoi Su-35 'Flanker-E' multirole fighters to China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

"The delivery of those platforms to the People's Republic of China has been completed," Jane's reported quoting an official from Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) as saying Monday.

The official did not reveal when exactly the final batch of aircraft was delivered.

The $2.5 Billion Russian-Sino agreement for 24 4++ generation Su-35 jets was signed in November 2015. China received the first 4 Su-35 platforms in 2016 and a further 10 in 2017, the report added.

The contract also includes ground support equipment and spare engines, with a military-diplomatic source telling Jane's on 16 April that the contract is expected to be fully implemented by 2020.

"Some additional subsystems, including ground-support hardware, have yet to be delivered. The customer will have received all the pieces of equipment by the end of the next year," said the source.

According to a PLAAF source, the Su-35 "will be complemented by air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, as well as unguided rockets, guided bomb units and unguided bombs."

"The fighters will carry R-27 (AA-10 'Alamo'), R-73 (AA-11 'Archer'), and RVV-family [air-to-air] missiles and Kh-35E (AS-20 'Kayak') anti-ship missiles," he added.

China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed in April 2018 that the Su-35 had officially entered service with the PLAAF.