Indonesia has selected the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 super maneuverable fighter aircraft to replace its Air Force ageing fleet of Northrop Gr...
Indonesia has selected the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 super maneuverable fighter aircraft to replace its Air Force ageing fleet of Northrop Grumman F-5E Tiger II fighter jets.
Indonesia will acquire a squadron of these 4+ generation aircraft, which is the most capable fighter jets in the world and second only to the U.S. F-22 Raptor figher due to lack of stealth.
Indonesia will be the first export customer for the type. China has also expressed interest in aircraft, but a deal is yet to materialize, due to Moscow's concern about Chinese history of reverse engineering Russian supplied aircraft.
Indonesian Air Force acquired the Tiger II in the 1980s. Powered by two GE J85-GE-21B turbojet engines, the F-5 is a single-seat, supersonic fighter aircraft designed to conduct air-to-ground and air-to-air operations. Indonesia operated a fleet of eleven of these jets in combat role.
Even though a U.S. allie, Indonesian Air Force operates Russian origin aircraft, including five Su-27 and eleven Su-30 along with U.S. made F-16 fighters.
The Su-35 can carry a payload of 8000 kg in its 12 weapons stations.
