indonesia getting Su35,s.

From Defense world

Indonesia has selected Russian Su-35 fighter aircraft to replace 16 F-5 Tiger aircraft. "We (Armed Forces Commander and Air Force Chief) agreed to buy a squadron of Sukhoi SU-35 from Russia to replace F-5 Tiger fighter aircraft,” Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu was quoted as saying by Tempo website.

Su35 to replace F5
Wonder if they will have part supply problems as well?

Probably because the Company have stopped producing F-5's for them. In return they must order something new, so F-35 is going to be aircraft..

Indonesia doesn't even make their own aircraft. Nothing serious here. Just another country trying to replace outdated aircraft.

en.wikipedia.org...

It's a slap in the face to the U.S. and its allies really. Gifted 32 f-16s, Australia gifted c-130s, upgrading their block 15s and they turn around and purchase Russian jets. They'll regret that one day I'm sure, a country like that would have a much easier time keeping single engine f-16s relevant than the sukhoi maintenance monsters, I think anyway..

a reply to: Caughtlurking

No it's not. Just because they were helped doesn't obligate them to buy Western aircraft. They look at their options, and the Su-35 was a good fit. It's a nice aircraft too. They already have Su-27s, and Su-30s in the inventory.

From what I understand of the Tiger, the Su-35S should be a fairly substantial upgrade, and practical too. Not that I flaw U.S. aircraft, but I always found the Su-27/33/35/37's and MiG-29/33's to be absolutely sexy. Well...to the eye...their maintenance log however...

a reply to: Zaphod58
They have a few yes but not in meaningful numbers. To me that aircraft puts them in a rock and a hard place. Politically they're probably still hesitant because of what our embargoes did to their readiness but they do have a vast territory and with China continuing to expand and be aggressive in the South China Sea I think the smarter play politically would to continue to work with Korea(KFX) and the U.S. It's definitely cheaper to fly f-16 with similar operational capability and less intensive maintenance. No question the su-35 is awesome but they're replacing f-5s, to me that's like going from a ford galaxy to a Porsche.

a reply to: Caughtlurking

Yes they're in small numbers, but they have experience with them. It's not a huge upgrade for maintenance and pilots to go from one to the other.

a reply to: Caughtlurking

Are you implying that quality is under quantity? Why, when the rest of the world is working on fifth and sixth generation aircraft would you slow your pace? The Su-35 to me would be the most logical step outside of the F-15, the F-35 or the Typhoon. None of which I believe Indonesia is willing to pay of the scrap for - and probably with good reason. I'm not aware of Indonesia's economic state, but if it's like the rest of the worlds, it's probably pretty poor.

Will make our Air Force a bit twitchy now...

a reply to: Blackfinger

Why would Indonesia having Su-35's make our air force twitchy? The 35 isn't even one of the creams of the crop of Russian aviation.

a reply to: Shugo

Quantity is absolutely important in terms of aircraft. The engines of Russian aircraft are notoriously finicky, if they have ~16 with a bullish combat ready state of 50% (no good source of this number just an educated guess) that's eight. I think the f-16 is still and will still be a viable platform for as long or longer than the su-27 family or any other 4+ gen airframes. That's why i think that these smaller countries are better off with an f-16 than any other aircraft. It's bang for the buck beats anything and they'll be even cheaper and parts more plentiful with the usaf switching to f-35 in the near future.

a reply to: Caughtlurking

When India came to Red Flag with their Su-30s they had better than an 80% mission rate. They were even higher than most US units that were there. They've made a lot of improvements in the engine field. They're still not great but they're a lot better.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Yes you're right but for all we know those aircraft could of been fresh from a depot level maintenance overhaul. Most of our aircraft are reaching the end of their life cycle and either need depot level maintenance or or not being sent to depot because the AF wants to save money post sequestration in preparation for the f-35. This is where politics comes to play. India pumps a lot of money into their arsenal because war waits on all of their borders. Indonesia I don't think will have that luxury. I also don't put too much faith into red flag events.. We won't even show our taxpayers the best of our best why would we show all of our cards to another government. Believe me I'm not trying to nitpick though I've lurked for long enough to know you know your stuff.

a reply to: Caughtlurking

You don't show everything ever in training. There are several systems that are only ever turned on in the simulator or real war conditions. But you do show a lot and train hard at them. You want your pilots to be ready for combat.

You have to realize about India though, many of their aircraft are falling out of the sky lately. They've lost several in recent weeks. They have an old fleet mostly and it shows.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Seems to be common theme globally.

And things become a little clearer.

m.thejakartapost.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Excellent find. "Indonesia also planned to procure Boeing aircraft and Chinook helicopters from the US."

That's interesting. P-8, Hornets, or growlers? Boeing was saying they see having the hornet line open for years to come.

At least the war machine will help fuel tons of American jobs equipping all of China's neighbors. If people think the Middle East is bad they better hope this fuse doesn't light.

a reply to: Caughtlurking

If Indonesia is worried about activity in the South China sea, P-8's seam to be a good fit for them to keep an eye on what China is up to.

a reply to: Shugo
Bet the Su35,s will be operational a lot quicker than the RAAF,s F35 fleet..

a reply to: Blackfinger

Bet the f-35 would blow you away if you ever saw it in action. there shouldn't be any problem getting the su-35 operational, it's a 4th gen aircraft and has 30 years of track record. I'd also put my money on the f-35 in any engagement once it reaches FOC.