Russian Su-35 fighters built for Egypt could be headed to Iran; according to the “aviacionline” website, Iran and Russia will likely sign a 20-year, $10 billion security and defence cooperation agreement in January 2022. The page states that the agreement may include the purchase of Su-35 fighters, S-400 missiles.
According to information gathered by a defence analyst, the agreement may include the purchase of at least 24 Sukhoi Su-35SE fighters. Many of these planes are already in production because they were part of an unfinished order from Egypt.
Following the signing of a contract in 2018, Egypt would become the first customer for the Su-35 in the Middle East region, with the delivery of 24/26 units costing approximately USD 3 billion. Although 15 or 16 aircraft were manufactured and ready for delivery, Egypt never received them.
According to “aviacionline,” the impediment to the operation’s completion was the United States’ threat to sanction Egypt if the Su-35s were deployed. The operational capability of its fleet of over 200 F-16s, dozens of AH-64 Apache helicopters, and hundreds of M-1 Abrams tanks were jeopardised.
Russia then attempted to place 11 of these Su-35s in Indonesia, which had almost completed a long-ago purchase of a batch of these heavy fighters. However, the Indonesian Air Force chief declared that the Su-35 would be excluded from the jet tender favouring the French Rafale and the American F-15EX.
Iran’s interest in S-400 is known. The country wants to secure itself against any Israeli attack as Israel conducts an attack claiming to be “pre-emptive.”
