Brazil declines to sign $750 million deal to buy Su-35 fighters from Russia

Russia used to sign such contracts only with China and India

Vladimir Putin's visit to Brazil was supposed to end the long-standing tender connected with the delivery of Russian Su-35 pursuit planes to Brazil. “Our offer for Su-35 planes is the best from the commercial and technical point of view. The pursuit plane is designed in compliance with the requirements of the Brazilian Air Force. Unlike the competitors, we offer a complex delivery with all necessary equipment and adequate offset programs. The package also includes an opportunity for Brazil to participate in the production of Su-35 planes, their modernization and the post-sale servicing,” the general director of the Sukhoi holding, Mikhail Pogosyan told the Izvestia prior to Putin's visit to Brazil.

	BREAKING NEWS Haditha manslaughter hearings open in USA Relations between Russia and USA get into Cold War spirit again Russia remembers Beslan
	Jaguar XF More...

A signed contract with Brazil is an issue of strategic importance for Russia. The list of competitors in the Brazilian tender includes the French fighter Mirage 2000, the US F-16 aircraft and the Swedish Grippen. Brazil plans to purchase not less than 12 planes, although the order quantity can be extended to 24 and even 60 fighter planes in the future. The contract has been tentatively estimated at $750 million. It is worth mentioning that the price of the deal may exceed $1 billion taking into consideration the deliveries of additional aviation arms, the creation of a certain infrastructure and the technical servicing, or even the licensed production of fighters.

Russia used to sign such contracts only with China and India (there was an expensive contract conduced with Malaysia about 1.5 years ago, though). Brazilian military men's opinion of Russian Su-35 fighters is rather flattering, although the fate of the tender is rather vague.