Venezuela to Replace U.S. F-16 Fighters With Russian Su-35s

sandy

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Venezuela is considering replacing its contingent of U.S.-built F-16 multi-role fighters with Russian Su-35s, a high-ranking Venezuelan general was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

“We are considering procurement of Russian Su-35 fighter aircraft to replace the F-16s, after the United States banned weapons exports to Venezuela,” Venezuelan General Staff official General Alberto Muller Rojas said. “At the moment the Su-35 is world’s best multi-role fighter.”

The United States announced a ban on arms sales to Venezuela May 15. The U.S. State Department accuses the South American country of having an intelligence-sharing relationship with Iran and Cuba, both of which the U.S. says are state sponsors of terrorism.

The sanctions against Venezuela, a major U.S. oil supplier, come after years of antagonism between the leftist Venezuelan president and the White House, on issues ranging from trade to oil prices, which have dragged ties to their worst state in decades, Pravda.ru website reports.

President Hugo Chavez has accused the United States of breaching an agreement to supply parts for Venezuela’s F-16s.

Rojas, a military advisor close to Chavez, said the possibility of procurement of Russian fighter Su-35 had previously been discussed with Moscow, but that the White House’s decision to stop supplying spare parts for U.S. aircraft had given fresh impetus to the talks.

General Alberto Muller Rojas, said earlier he had recommended to the defense ministry that Venezuela consider selling its F-16s after the U.S. announced a ban on arms sales to the country. Muller said he thought it worthwhile to consider “the feasibility of a negotiation with Iran for the sale of those planes.”

But the Defense Minister’s spokesperson said that this was Muller’s personal opinion only and that he “is not a spokesman of the armed forces,” Chicago Tribune daily newspaper reports.

The Iranian Embassy in Caracas said no deal involving warplanes had been proposed.

A U.S. State Department spokesman said Monday that the United States would not allow Venezuela to sell the planes to Iran.

Under U.S. arms-sales contracts, “you can’t transfer these defense articles, in this case, F-16s, to a third country,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. “And I would expect that even if such a request were made that [permission] would not be forthcoming from the U.S. Government.”

The U.S. and Venezuela signed a contract on the F-16s in 1982, and Venezuela does not have the right to re-sell its F-16s under the terms of that contract. However, Rojas said the U.S. had broken the agreement unilaterally, so Venezuela considered itself free not to comply with its obligations.
Mosnews
 
Yeah, that's no surprise. This guy (Chavez) is scraping the bottom of the barrel these days to find anti-American things to do and say. I'm glad he won't have American planes anymore. He seems to love to hear himself rant and rave. Most Americans (if they think of him at all) just consider him a little Castro wannabe.
 
gigabrain said:
still the SU-35 is a good plane....thankefully we will never have to fight it

I wouldn't say never. I just don't think there will be Venezuelan pilots at the stick.

Say, do you realize gigabrain is brain raised to the 9th power? :shock:
 
A SU-35 is about the same as an F-15 so i think they're missing out on the F-16, but they're getting a cheaper deal anyway. I know the F-16 is relatively inexpensive, but how much does an SU-35 usually cost?
 
WarMachine said:
A SU-35 is about the same as an F-15 so i think they're missing out on the F-16, but they're getting a cheaper deal anyway. I know the F-16 is relatively inexpensive, but how much does an SU-35 usually cost?

Well, since all this armament that will never be used by a two bit dictator is being squandered instead of helping improve the people's lives that he swore to help, it's all too expensive. What's he planning to do, invade the US? In his distorted dreams.
 
WarMachine said:
A SU-35 is about the same as an F-15 so i think they're missing out on the F-16, but they're getting a cheaper deal anyway. I know the F-16 is relatively inexpensive, but how much does an SU-35 usually cost?


SU 35 Less than~$35 million a Piece
 
Rabs said:
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.
 
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.

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
 
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