Mikhail Pogosyan, the president of Russia's Sukhoi Corporation, recently announced that the new multi-functional Su-35 fighter jet, which underwent its first flight test on February 18, will be equipped in the Russian military within two to three years.
According to reports from the Russian website "Aviaport", Pogosyan stated that mass deliveries of the Su-35 to the Russian Air Force would begin between 2010 and 2011. Additionally, there are plans to market this aircraft model in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. The purpose of the Su-35 fighter is to intercept and attack various aerial targets, including stealth ones.
Pogosyan emphasized that the results of the Su-35 aircraft tests were highly satisfactory. The tests proceeded exactly as anticipated; the systems functioned normally, and the aircraft's handling characteristics were fully confirmed under all test conditions. Currently, only one prototype is undergoing flight testing, but at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, preparations are underway for trials of two more aircraft of the same type. Pogosyan referred to the Su-35 flight tests as a "historic event." This aircraft represents the first step towards fifth-generation planes. Although the new Su-35 fighter resembles the Su-27 in appearance, it possesses an entirely different level of intelligence.
In response to this, Alexey Fedorov, the president of Russia's United Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, believed that exporting large numbers of advanced fighters while the Russian military only purchases individual models is an abnormal situation.
Fedorov stated in a recent television interview: "This has long been an issue, and we feel quite uncomfortable when advanced aviation technology equipment is exported abroad in recent years. Meanwhile, the aircraft supplied to the Russian military are only individual units."
Therefore, the Russian Air Force needs to quickly shift towards large-scale procurement of domestically produced fighters. Russian aviation manufacturers have participated in major international tenders and often win these bids, competing against the main producers from the U.S. and Europe.