by Reuben F. Johnson
The recent signing of a contract for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) to acquire 24 Sukhoi Su-35 Super Flankers highlights the continuing reliance that Beijing’s military has on Russian defense technology, despite more than two decades of steady cooperation in the defense industrial sphere. “The two main objectives for the Chinese in signing this deal with the Russians were to get their hands on the [Saturn] 117S jet engine and the [NIIP] Irbis-E radar,” said a Ukrainian defense industry head with many years of experience in working with both Russian fighter aircraft programs and the PRC’s defense sector.
Less noticed, however, is the extent to which PRC industry also relies on a list of technologies and programs that are developed and built in Ukraine. Russia has competencies in a number of areas, particularly in the production of finished, full-integrated weapon systems, said the Ukrainian director, “but many of the specialized systems that they are seeking for the advancement of their programs come from here in Ukraine and not from Russian defense firms.”
Read the full story at AINonline