As of right now, the Chinese deal of 24 SU-35's seems to be confirmed, it has been reported as such by the
Reuters, Sputnik International & IHS Janes .. Good catch
@aliyusuf
Russia, China sign contract worth over $2 billion for Su-35 fighter jets| Reuters
Russia Confirms Signing Contract With China on Delivery of 24 Su-35 Jets
Russia to supply China with 24 Su-35 fighters | IHS Jane's 360
yes, there is much ?
what on earth makes you think China will make a purchase of these planes from Russia just to... hand them over to you, and you pay for them in........... 'soft loans' ?
these aren't like sportscars and cessna business jets that any pig with money can buy, for example.. your taller than mountain allies, along with Russia and basically every other 'customer/ally' of the US are strictly prohibited, as in, you are required to stop them, with lethal force if need be.. before they get close to US supplied F 16s
don't dramatize it in your imagination but that's basically it, like the PAF can not be in an aerial wargames exercise with Chinese jets vs their F16s
though I could be completely wrong about that..
maybe they do participate with other sovereign states, but with their radars on training mode, do they ?
I would agree with you that China wouldn't simply go on and procure a squadron of aircrafts just to re-export them to Pakistan. The discussion if you actually refer back to it revolved around a customized "chinese SU-35 solution", where the PAF would get the SU-35's re-exported from China with certain Chinese systems on it, and this idea would be sold that a "downgraded" SU-35 is what PAF got ... This was one of the ideas that was floated back in the day when this topic was hot and was discussed to the death, for which the conclusion was something like ...
"nahhh doesn't seem too likely" ... Then there was also the idea where a deal could be made with the Russians to allow the export of a certain J-11 version, where we could pay the Russian certain royalties .... So there were alot of possibilities discussed on this forum ...
However, let me just borrow from your post ... the F-16 you talk of, was infact actually denied to PAF post 2001.
When PAF asked for BLK-52, due to the US concerns about the Chinese, the initial response was a decline and it was infact the PAF that came up with the solution to station the F-16 blk-52's at Jacobabad with no Chinese presence at the base. So, while you use the F-16 to propagate that it not being involved with exercises with Chinese counter parts shows that such defence matters involve "terms & conditions" to them ...
However, the funny thing is the same F-16 blk-52 deal with the US shows that, terms and conditions can be negotiated, solutions can be found .. and there is a certain situation in which both parties can consider it an okay deal and finalize it ...
On a side note, its actually quite amusing to see an Indian mention training mode of a radar, I haven't heard that term over this forum for about 3-4 years now ... as it was made famous right after that clip of a USAF fighter pilot leaked which was an embarrassing incident for the IAF, because for all the victories it had claimed, be it indradhanush, Cope Indias etc. The reality was slowly but surely seeping out ... and in came the IAF fanboy brigade with the argument that because the Bars was in training mode .. therefore the Americans had an advantage ..... good old times ..
You are absolutely right on this one ..
this is no cessna or sports car deal which any "pig with money can buy" ...
the latter part describing the Indian policy to perfection ... Remember the time where the MMRCA was used to cancel the avionics deal of JFT ... yeah it came back on the table when the Indians were still not clear if they wanted to buy or not ... and sure enough .. Modi went and agreed upon buying 36 jets in flyaway condition .... But then again, the deal is now a third of its strength and who knows .. the avionics deal of JFT might come up from time to time in your transactions ...
Take a look at the Russians then, you go to the west, and your "best friend" the country whose Deputy prime minister was ready to take a good spitting in the face if Russia were to sell any military equipment to Pakistan
, is now being taken as the most serious contender for supplying all the engines RD-93 for the JFT that PAF will use, present and in to the future . The same "best friend" t
hat was the one breaking the news of Pakistan being a potential customer of the SU-35 through an article in Sputnik and then the statement by Depty FM ... and while you continue to believe that a S-400 deal will resolve the issue, you cutting the PAK-FA deal to 1/3rd its strength has alot to do with it as well ... and
plus Chinese interests in protecting CPEC, and Russia being quite interested in the project itself, with India going shopping in the west diversifying its suppliers dictates the point I'm trying to make which is ...
With the evolving geo-economic & political conditions .. anything at this point remains a possibility ...
