Why the Indonesian air force wants the Su-35

The Indonesian air force wants to replace its outdated American built F-5 fighters with the brand new Russian Su-35 Super Flanker, but the country’s political leadership is unable to act quickly because the U.S. is pitching in with its F-16 and F-18 jets.

The Indonesians operate both American F-16s and Russian made Flankers – five Su-27s and 11 Su-30s. How Russian aircraft ended up in the air force of an American ally is interesting. “Indonesia’s turn toward Russian fighters stemmed partly from necessity,” explains Defense Industry Daily (DID).. Its 12 remaining F-16A/Bs and 16 remaining F-5E/F fighters experienced severe maintenance problems in the wake of a U.S. embargo.”

The embargo was imposed after Australia started meddling in Indonesia’s civil war in East Timor, and the U.S. accused Jakarta of human rights violations.

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