The deal to exchange 10,000 dog skin coats for fighter jets

During Russia's economic difficulties in the early 1990s, China signed a contract to exchange 10,000 dog skin coats for 24 Su-27 aircraft.

A Su-27UBK fighter of the Chinese Air Force. Photo: Wikipedia.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia's economy fell into a severe crisis. The difficult situation forced the Russians to sell many military equipment in exchange for daily necessities. One of the most famous deals was the contract to exchange Russian Su-27 fighters for Chinese dog skin coats, revealed in a documentary produced by the channel Wings of Russia.

In late 1991, after a struggle with the Russian army, Sukhoi Design Bureau decided to export the Su-27 fighter jet line abroad to ensure financial resources to support employees, as well as protect technical infrastructure from the risk of bankruptcy.

China became the first country to buy Su-27s in 1991, according to Global Security. At that time, necessities were scarce in Russia, the most essential items being flashlights, thermoses, and winter coats. Faced with this situation, Sukhoi's management proposed exchanging 10,000 dog skin coats for a batch of Su-27s. The Beijing government agreed and signed a contract with Sukhoi.

Colonel Du Wenlong, a Chinese military expert, said they had a hard time meeting Russia’s requirements because each coat required the skin of 18 dogs. In the winter of 1991, all the dogs in Henan, Shandong, etc. were killed for their skin, with the total number of dogs killed possibly reaching more than 180,000.

The first batch of 24 Su-27s was delivered to China by Russia in late 1992. However, as soon as the contract was completed, the jackets used to pay for Sukhoi were stolen. This angered the Russians and they decided to only deal in US dollars in subsequent transactions.

A total of 48 Su-27 aircraft were produced and delivered to China by Russia between 1992 and 1996, with a total order value of about 1.7 billion USD. To date, China owns 75 Su-27 aircraft and more than 205 J-11 aircraft, an illegal copy of the Su-27 series.

According to VNE