Belarus will begin taking delivery of Su-30SM fighter jets in 2019 at the earliest.
Speaking to Tass News Agency in an interview on July 17, 2017, Belarusian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Andrei Ravkov discussed the delivery timeframe for the Su-30SM squadron ordered for the Air Force.
Defense Minister Ravkov said, “For the purpose of renewing the fleet of combat aircraft, the Defense Ministry signed a contract with Irkut Research and Production Corporation for the delivery of 12 Su-30SM aircraft in the period of 2018-2020, four planes a year.”
That plan, however, appears to have been modified, over unspecified technical adjustments to the aircraft.
“Owing to technical changes in the aircraft’s equipment set, the deliveries may be postponed to 2019-2020,” Defense Minister Ravkov noted.
The two sides inked the agreement for the sale of 12 Su-30SMs last month. Alongside the announcement of the agreement, W4T noted,
“Notably, Serbia’s Defense Minister announced earlier in 2017 that Serbia would receive eight MiG-29s from Belarus as donations. All of these are due to be sent before the end of 2018, suggesting that Belarus will want to acquire at least some of the Su-30SMs before 2020.”
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
