Russia Nearing Agreement for New Round of Fighter Jet Exports to Angola; Building Revenue for Commercial Aerospace Development
Russian defense officials are reportedly nearing an agreement to export six Su-30 fighter jets to Angola. This would mark a rebound from Sukhoi’s failure to deliver on a 2013 contract for 18 of the same aircraft.
An agreement with Angola could ease some of the pressure recently being put on the military by the Kremlin to procure more fighter jets and provide more revenue for Sukhoi’s civil aviation programs. Irkut, the Sukhoi subsidiary producing the Su-30, is in the midst of testing the MC-21, a medium-range passenger jet. This case is representative of a wider trend of Russian arms companies branching out into the commercial marketplace to insulate themselves from falling levels of defense procurement.
The Angolan deal, valued at approximately $225 million, further expands on Russia’s long history of providing arms to the Angolan military. Since just 2015, Russia has accounted for 68% of all arms procurement by Angola. The National Air Force of Angola is currently comprised of Cold War-era Russian aircraft.