Chinese purchase of Su-35

Franklin said:

China is not going to buy the SU-35 period. And that most likely goes for the Lada class subs and the S-400 missile's too.

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The S-400 is a done deal, there is no doubt about that; Su-35 highly likely; on the other hand Lada is just a maybe.

Russia is currently getting screwed again by the renewed EU sanction (check CNN today), so they are in the selling mood, China probably got a great deal they can't ignore so buying a few Su-35 on the cheap is in their best interest.

I read something from the Chinese boards that I don't know if it has any validity but what held up the deal was China did just want the engines available to them. So they were willing to buy a minimum number of Su-35s but Russia was going to stock a watered-down version of the engines which is why the deal was never signed. Russia has in the past withheld the best export version of their hardware from China. They need a buyer to start things off but no takers so far. If China possesses the promoted best non-5th gen fighter in the world, they would have to offer other countries especially rivals to China a better version in order to sell it.

AssassinsMace said:

I read something from the Chinese boards that I don't know if it has any validity but what held up the deal was China did just want the engines available to them. So they were willing to buy a minimum number of Su-35s but Russia was going to stock a watered-down version of the engines which is why the deal was never signed. Russia has in the past withheld the best export version of their hardware from China. They need a buyer to start things off but no takers so far. If China possesses the promoted best non-5th gen fighter in the world, they would have to offer other countries especially rivals to China a better version in order to sell it.

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I strongly disagree with the bolded part, but that's another story.

In general, I doubt such a deal is about the engines or anything aboard the Su-35 for that matter. In Zhuhai 2014, the Russians approached the Chinese with an offer of 117S engines, apparently, and the Chinese promptly declined. The quagmire that has become of this alleged deal leads me to believe that other forces besides military need are driving it.

Ultra said:

The S-400 is a done deal, there is no doubt about that; Su-35 highly likely; on the other hand Lada is just a maybe.

Russia is currently getting screwed again by the renewed EU sanction (check CNN today), so they are in the selling mood, China probably got a great deal they can't ignore so buying a few Su-35 on the cheap is in their best interest.

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The buzz is getting louder and if the bargain is too good to pass up or do without, China can find good use for the planes. It has been discussed before that the SU-35 can fit a place in the defense.

t2contra said:

The buzz is getting louder and if the bargain is too good to pass up or do without, China can find good use for the planes. It has been discussed before that the SU-35 can fit a place in the defense.

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I don't think so; the logistical hurdle and the incompatible datalinks will mean that these assets will not be able to integrate into the PLAAF with anywhere near the efficiency of other Chinese-built systems. The number of purchased Su-35s, rumored at twenty four, is also low.
I'm not sure that whatever advantages, if any, that the Su-35 brings is worth the trouble.

The Su-35s will most likely serve adversary or evaluation roles much like the J-7s did in the USAF.

Ultra said:

The S-400 is a done deal, there is no doubt about that; Su-35 highly likely; on the other hand Lada is just a maybe.

Russia is currently getting screwed again by the renewed EU sanction (check CNN today), so they are in the selling mood, China probably got a great deal they can't ignore so buying a few Su-35 on the cheap is in their best interest.

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What are you talking about done deals and highly likely ? There is no single drop of inkt on any of the contracts. And that is despite years of rumors. China won't buy these platforms because the Chinese domestic defense industries can produce what it needs. Its imports what it cannot produce like jet engines and heavy transport planes. Last year China spend more than 2 billion dollars importing weapons. China is already producing the J-10B and the J-16 on mass and in the future the J-11D and further down the road the J-20 and maybe the J-31. What extra can 24 or 48 SU-35's bring to the table ? Not to mention they have to integrate new Russian weapon systems in to their fleet which will not be easy. The money spend on the SU-35 can be spend on J-10B, J-16 and the J-11D. And those planes come with a new weapon the about 100km range PL-15 that the SU-35 can't use.

Depending on how desperate the Russians are about selling the Su35 I guess, but if they offer up options like de-coupling key subsystems like radar, datalink and other avionics or even sharing source codes, I can see the PLA being more interested.

That will allow them to install their own equipment and integrate their own weaponry as they please, which will resolve compatibility issues with other PLA hardware.

In that instance, the PLAAF may be more open to a purchase (especially if buying the planes sans radar and avionics would significantly reduce the price) and use them as J11Bs to offset SAC's production shortfall now that they are transitioning towards building J15s and J16s.

Not saying the deal is likely, but it is possible if the Russians are desperate enough to sell.

Besides the time may have come to make the data links compatible.

SinoSoldier said:

I strongly disagree with the bolded part, but that's another story.

In general, I doubt such a deal is about the engines or anything aboard the Su-35 for that matter. In Zhuhai 2014, the Russians approached the Chinese with an offer of 117S engines, apparently, and the Chinese promptly declined. The quagmire that has become of this alleged deal leads me to believe that other forces besides military need are driving it.

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We really need to know the exact conversation that happened in zhuhai. Did the Russians only wanting to sell the Chinese just the engines or are we talking full 100% ToT with license manufacturing lol?
In the world of jet engines that makes a world of difference. It's extremely difficult and not cost effective to reverse engineer modern jet engines.
Maybe this time the Russians sweeten the deal with full ToT. Who knows.

Well, reading the translation fo the one Russian article. I think it's logical if the Russian companies are outlining potential future production lines for exports - it's common in the industry, you need to be prepared if you want to sell stuff.

But it doesn't mean that the production line will be ever materialized in a real deal.