Russia Offering United Arab Emirates Joint Production of Su-57 Fighters for its Air Force

Amid a series of reports on planned sales of Russian arms sales which emerged during the Dubai Airshow, Russia has reportedly offered to jointly manufacture Su-57 next generation fighters with the United Arab Emirates should the Arab state seek to acquire the aircraft to modernise its fleet. The UAE has shown considerable interest in Russian Flanker fourth generation fighters, including the Su-27 in the 1990s and more recently the newer Su-35 for which an purchase is currently being negotiated, and the details of a joint fifth generation medium weight fighter program have been under discussion since 2017. The Su-57 combines the strengths of the Flanker design with next generation technologies, from hypersonic air to air missiles to laser defence systems, and would provide the UAE with a unique asset far more capable than anything it or its neighbours currently deploys. The Su-57's APAA guided K-77 air to air missile has almost double the range of the AIM-120C the UAE Air Force currently deploys and unrivalled precision, while the much faster R-37M boasts approximately four times the range allowing it to engage targets across much of the Middle East from well beyond retaliation range.

The CEO of Russia’s state arms exporter Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, stated regarding a potential deal for the joint manufacture of the aircraft that ‘localisation’ of some components was under offer. The UAE notably licence produced significant components for its most recently acquired fighter, the F-16E, despite making no significant technological inputs into the design of which it is the sole operator. The fierce competition for sales to the country, and the sizeable multi-squadron acquisitions its Air Force has made in the past and will make in future, thus allows Abu Dhabi to negotiate highly favourable terms for future purchases - including purchases of Russia’s latest and most advanced combat jet. The possibility remains, although slim, that the UAE will acquire three classes of Russian fighter - with negotiations for Su-35 acquisitions and a joint lighter stealth fighter ongoing in parallel.