Indonesia-Russia Su-35 Fighter Deal Till To Be Inked

Indonesia has not yet made a final decision on the purchase of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 (Flanker-E) jets, an Indonesian Defense Ministry official said Monday.

In September, Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said Indonesia had decided to replace its US-made Northrop F-5 Tiger II fighter jets with Russian Sukhoi Su-35s.

Jan Pieter Ate, director for international cooperation at the Indonesian defense ministry, said the country is interested in purchasing 32 advanced aircraft but a decision on the supplier had not yet been made and at the moment Indonesia is not engaged in direct negotiations with Russia on the matter.

The official told RIA Novosti that according to Indonesian law, any contract for the purchase of foreign weaponry should entail the transfer of at least 35 percent of the procured technology to the country. Ate added that such an agreement with Russia has still to be made.

Last month, the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade, citing sources, reported that Western companies had intensified their efforts to persuade Indonesia to purchase their aircraft after Jakarta announced its decision to buy Russian Su-35s.

Russia's Su-35 fighter was first introduced to a foreign audience at the 2013 Paris Air Show as a "4++ generation" heavily-upgraded derivative of the Su-27 multirole fighter.

Source: Sputnik News

Indonesia getting it's sting along with Su-35 Super Flankers

Indonesia has reiterated its desire to order 16 Sukhoi Su-35 fighters to replace its aging fleet of Northrop F-5Es.

Defence minister Ryamizard Ryacudu says the air force’s familiarty with the Su-27, of which Jakarta has 16, was a key influencer in the air force’s decision for the Su-35. His comments were carried by state news agency Antara.

He adds that the acquisition will take place “gradually” and depends on the availability of funds. Jakarta will also require technology transfer as part of the any order, which is still contingent on government approval.

In January 2014, Ryacudu’s predecessor as defence minister said that Indonesia was looking at several types of fighters to replace the F-5Es. Types considered include the Boeing F-15, Lockheed Martin F-16, Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, and the Su-35.

Flightglobal’s MiliCas database shows that Indonesia’s fixed wing combat aircraft fleet includes eight Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucanos, six F-5Es, eight F-16s, 14 BAE Systems Hawk 209s, and 16 Su-27s.

Longer term, Jakarta hopes to obtain 80 Korea Aerospace Industries KFX fighters. The KFX is a developmental twin-engined fighter that will be developed by South Korea. Seoul, which wants to buy 120 KFXs, has an 80% share in the programme, and Jakarta 20%.

The Su-35 has yet to lock down its first foreign customer, but China is also interested in buying 24 examples.