Tuesday, December 24 2019 12:39

ArmInfo.Azerbaijan became interested in buying the latest Russian fifth-generation fighter aircraft Su-57. According to Vedomosti, this could be a retaliatory  measure for the acquisition of Russian aircraft by Armenia

According to the source, the green light to the start of the  negotiation process is given at the highest political level. Over the  past decade, Azerbaijan has purchased Russian arms amounting about $  5 billion, of which, according to RIA Novosti, arms amounting to  about $ 3 billion were received, as Ilham Aliyev said in Sochi on  October 3. Thus, contracts were signed for the purchase of two  missile systems - S- 300PMU-2, up to 100 T-90S tanks and 118 BMP-3  infantry fighting vehicles, 18 Msta-S self-propelled artillery  systems, 18 Smerch multiple launch rocket launchers and other  military equipment. At the same time, in terms of aviation,  deliveries were limited exclusively to Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters,  although the Azerbaijani Air Force also needed to update its combat  aircraft fleet (it is based on Soviet MiG-29 fighters delivered from  Ukraine in the mid-2000s). Azerbaijan has long shown interest in the  Sino-Pakistani JF-17 fighter (developed with the assistance of  Russia) and acquired Pakistan's MFI-395 Super Mushshak light training  aircraft.

The starting point for Azerbaijan's interest in the Su-57 was the  purchase by Armenia of four Su-30SM fighters with an option for  another eight aircraft, a person in the military-technical  cooperation system says.  In addition to Azerbaijan, Turkey is  interested in the Su-57, but these deliveries, as the director of the  Federal MTC Service Dmitry Shugaev reported in November 2019, can  only be started after the initial needs of the Russian army are met  (the Russian Ministry of Defense contracted until 2027 76 cars of  this type). Negotiations on the deal can last long enough and be  accompanied by a number of conditions on the part of Azerbaijan, said  Andrei Frolov, editor-in-chief of the magazine "Arms Export": first  of all, this concerns the mechanism of financing the deal (issuing a  loan). The expert believes that the country's air force is ready to  purchase a relatively small number of vehicles - no more than a  squadron. The potential purchase itself, on the one hand, is  demonstrative: since Armenia will receive Su-30SM fighters in the  near future, Azerbaijan considers it necessary to purchase a more  advanced aircraft. On the other hand, the Azerbaijani Air Force needs  a high-quality and fairly massive upgrade, so the choice can be made  not only in favor of the Su-57, but also, for example, in favor of  the purchase of Chinese-Pakistani fighters, the price of which is  much lower, the expert summarizes.