SU 35 Less than~$35 million a Piece

You just gota wonder how the russians make em that cheap.

They pay their workers with vodka and gloooorius consumerism.

They pay their workers with vodka and gloooorius consumerism.

You dont get the best quality of work out of drunk workers

Originally Posted by Rabs

You just gota wonder how the russians make em that cheap.

Lol I was just thinking of that too!!

Originally Posted by Rabs

You just gota wonder how the russians make em that cheap.

one thing is that instead of using high tech (and high cost) computer chips, they use much cheaper (and at times more reliable) vacuum tubes. granted they are very refined, but they are cheaper. also they cant afford to charge what the US does for military tech.

Well this isn't 1976, as the last soviet jet to use vacuum tubes was the mig-25. The su-35 is fairly advanced and russian quality has improved since the soviet days, especially on the new sukhois.

Originally Posted by HindStrike

Well this isn't 1976, as the last soviet jet to use vacuum tubes was the mig-25. The su-35 is fairly advanced and russian quality has improved since the soviet days, especially on the new sukhois.

The problem for Venezuela is not the plane but the pilot.

Correct me if I am wrong, but especially models like the Su 35 BM features various new avionic packages and the BVR capabilites are enroaching upon American avionic standards, let alone the incredible airframe capabilies for even a heavy body fighter aircraft.

Not a 5th generation aircraft, but is a clear picture of Russia's empahsis on 4 1/2 generation fighters for the export market.

The biggest reason the Soviets now Russians can make thing so much cheaper is because they watch the US military programs and use their intelligence organizations -KGB & GRU. America's political system drags out programs many years longer than it need be -the F-22A, from 1981 to 2005!
The Russians don't use America's intelligence leaks to design new equipment they use the data to see what the US tried in R&D, then seek another means of designing their new weapon system.
(Concerning the F/A-18 and MiG-29 design the Soviets did not 'bug' the telephones between McDD and their subcontractors, they bugged the FAX lines to obtain many millions of dollars worth US R&D!)
The Russians started their real design work started on the T-50 in 2000. It should be operational in 2016. Only sixteen years for the T50 versus the F-22A's twenty-four years.

Originally Posted by gigabrain

one thing is that instead of using high tech (and high cost) computer chips, they use much cheaper (and at times more reliable) vacuum tubes. granted they are very refined, but they are cheaper. also they cant afford to charge what the US does for military tech.

Where as the Russians can buy COT electronic components from Intel, AMD, etc. at the same time the US military can buy electronic components, the avionics of US weapon systems are no longer years ahead of other European & Russian weapon systems. During the Cold War the US Military ordered and bought chips the were many years ahead of the competition.

F-16vsSU-35 is like an F-22vsMiG21... He is actually upgrading and getting hardware from a reliable source with no attached conditions vs the U.S which has so many strings attached... He is getting the best buck for his money can't blame the guy he is smart