Su-33 talks twist and turn as China seeks carrier-borne fighter

[tigershark]

Su-33 talks twist and turn as China seeks carrier-borne fighter
By Reuben F Johnson

Negotiations for the sale of Sukhoi Su-33 carrier-capable combat aircraft to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are still continuing with both sides interested in coming to a final agreement, Russian industry sources have told Jane's.

"Previous reports that these discussions are at an end or that the 'contract has been cancelled' are incorrect," said a Russian source close to the programme.

"The pattern with the PLAN and Chinese industry on this subject has been the same for several years," the source continued. "It is almost like a series of waves, you could say. They come to us with a high level of interest, asking a lot of questions, then their interest seems to fade into the background and then sometime later - the next wave - they are back with more questions again.

"It is obvious they are trying to build their version of the Su-33 or some type of carrier aeroplane, but for various reasons they cannot accomplish this on their own and whenever they reach some technological impasse they come back to us to try and learn what will get them to the next step in the design process."
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© 2009 Jane's Information Group
End of non-subscriber extract

Source
http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw090316_1_n.shtml

[Webmaster]

Not unexpected, Kommersant usually comes with stuff like that. I already had my doubts about the J-11B being the reason, as despite earlier rows, military cooperation talks were said to be resumed even offering the new Su-35. But the minimum of 24 aircraft sounded good in combination with the copy concern to recoup production cost. It wouldn't be the first time Russia tells a customer no because more should be ordered (see Syria entry on the Su-27 page).

What I said...

Future
Until recently the Su-33 future seemed to be limited to the Russian Navy's fleet of 24 Su-33s operating from its sole aircraft carrier Kuznetsov. Although it plans to have two new aircraft carriers by 2017, at the same time it was revealed a new multi-purpose fighter would be developed to equip them.

However in late 2006 it was revealed by Russian newspaper Kommersant that Russian State arms export agency Rosoboronexport had entered negotiations with China for the sale for up to 50 Su-33 naval fighters in a deal worth up to $2.5 billion. An initial fleet of 12 aircraft would be operated from the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag, which China acquired from the Ukraine in 1999 and is currently being refitted at the Dalian shipyard. The deal was expected to include an initial $100 million order for two KnAAPO produced aircraft for trials. Additionally China sought to procure 12 aircraft to equip its first carrier.
However in March 2009, the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper reported that negotiations on the deal had collapsed recently over fears that Beijing could produce cheaper export versions of the aircraft with Chinese avionics and systems, in similar fashion to the J-11B. Additionally Russia was reportedly seeking to secure an order for at least 24 aircraft to recoup production costs.
Despite this latest report, China is unlikely to be able to fulfill its requirement for a carrier capable fighter in the near future, even though more expensive Western alternatives are theoretically available. In addition to the Varyag, China plans to deploy a fleet of three indigenously developed carriers in 2016. Although Chinese plans include the development of its own naval fighter to equip them, it will take some time to develop it as it currently owns no other carrier capable fighters. In this light it is possible that negotiations for the Su-33 will be resumed at a latter stage, if China abandons its plans to export the J-11B.


http://www.milavia.net/aircraft/su-33/su-33.htm

... now needs to be fixed a bit.

Thanks Jane's and thank you for posting!