Air-Force Belarus 2021 purchases include four Mi-35Ms and four Su-30SMs

[Test7]

Photo: Belarus MoD

Belarus military plans to get four Mi-35M attack helicopters and additional four Su-30SM fighters from Russia in 2021, Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin of Belarus said on the air of the Belarus 1 TV channel on 23 November 2020.

As added by Khrenin, the contract for the four Mi-35Ms has already been signed with the JSC Russian Helicopters while the department will continue purchases of the Su-30SM from IAZ, as well as the BTR-82A armored personnel carriers from PJSC Arzamas and the whole range of Electronic Warfare and communications equipment, with attention paid to domestic developments.

The Sukhoi Su-30SMs are a part of the deal for a dozen Su-30SMs signed between the Defence Ministry of Belarus and Russia’s Irkut Aviation Corporation (IAZ) back in 2017. On 13 November 2019 the first two Su-30SMs, serials 01 Red (construction number 10MK5 1607) and 02 Red (c/n 10MK5 1608) landed at the airfield of the 61st fighter air base in Baranovichi in the Brest Region. A week later, on 20 November 2019, another pair (serials 03 Red and 04 Red with unknown c/ns) were delivered.

In Belarus, the purchase of the fighters has been criticized in certain circles who would rather see the transition of the Belarus Air Force to less complex single-engined aicraft of Western or Chinese provenience, such as F-16 or JF-17, citing life-cycle cost of the heavy Su-30SM as the main obstacle. The Sukhois themselves have been procured at a rather favourable price of approx. USD 50 million a piece while the quoted cost for maintenance and modernization for an estimated service life of 35 years is 2-2.5 times the purchase price. As a result, a squadron of 12 aircraft with weapons shall cost Belarus between USD 2.2 billion and 2.5 billion over the next three and half decades.