Russia set to sell six Su-30 fighter jets to Myanmar
Russia will supply the Myanmar military with six Su-30 fighter jets, Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant General Alexander Fomin announced on Monday.
He said the agreement was reached over the weekend when Russian Minister of Defence General Sergey Shoygu visited Myanmar and met military leaders there, including Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
“We believe that the Su-30 will become the main combat fighter of the Myanmar air force for protecting the territorial integrity of the country and repelling terrorist threats,” Fromin said.
The ministry did not detail the cost of the jets or the timeframe for delivery.
Russia to supply six Su-30 fighter jets to Myanmar — announced Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant General Alexander Fomin https://t.co/iFkf9uSwDe pic.twitter.com/VXXvfPaOB4
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) January 22, 2018
On Saturday, Tass reported Shoygu as saying that Russia and Myanmar were ready to implement a large-scale plan for bilateral military cooperation. According to the report, Shoygu said Russia was ready to share with Myanmar the experience of fighting long-range unmanned aerial vehicles that were used in terror attacks in Syria.
Russia deployed a number of Su-30s in Syria after intervening in the conflict in 2015. In July, it was reported that Russia had developed a new variant of the twin-engine, multirole jets featuring upgraded avionics and weapons based on operational lessons learned in Syria.