Will Vietnam receive the first batch of 4 Su-35s?

Information from Russia says they are actively offering to sell 4.5 generation Su-35S fighters to Vietnam and the prospects are considered very bright.

After fully deploying 36 Su-30MK2 multi-role fighters, it is believed that Vietnam will soon order a more advanced Flanker variant, the two most promising candidates being the Su-30SM and Su-35S.

Initially, it seemed that the Su-30SM had a clear advantage, especially when Vietnam sent pilots to India to learn to fly the Su-30MKI - the predecessor version of the Su-30SM. However, recent developments show that it is highly likely that Vietnam will invest in moving straight to the most advanced Flanker version, the Su-35S.

At this time, all attention is focused on how many Su-35s Vietnam will order if it decides to order. To answer this question, let's look back at the history of Vietnam's orders for Flanker fighters.

Su-35S multirole fighter of the Russian Air Force.

Vietnam began to have 4th generation fighters in 1995, when we received the first 6 Su-27SK/UBK in 1995. In 1996, we received another 6 Su-27 fighters under the second contract.

The order of 6 aircraft in batches was a great effort by Vietnam in the context at that time, when the need to modernize the air force to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands became extremely urgent.

After mastering the Su-27 fighter jet line, by 2004, the first squadron of 4 Su-30MK2s had been put into service. After a period of careful evaluation of their features, it was not until 2010 that Vietnam decided to order the next 8 aircraft.

The first Su-30MK2 fighter of the Vietnam Air Force is taken out of the cargo hold of the An-124-100 transport aircraft.

Based on "shopping habits" to carefully evaluate the features and effects along with the country's financial situation, along with the production capacity of Sukhoi Group, there are many opinions that if Vietnam orders Su-35S, the initial quantity will hardly exceed 4.

The above number of Su-35S can be considered sufficient for immediate needs. This squadron will play the main role in coordinating operations for the previous generation Su-22, Su-27 and Su-30 units.

Hopefully, after a period of exploitation and use, the number of Vietnam's Su-35S will increase rapidly as happened with the Su-30MK2 before.

According to Baodatviet