From the current situation of the crisis, the Iranians have set their eyes on the J-10CE fighter jet, but not on the Su-35. The Iranians consider the configuration of the Su-35 to be too low and the range of the J-10CE to be too short. What they are really interested in is the J-16 heavy fighter jet. Would Iran really not be able to come up with 10 billion US dollars if it really wanted to buy? Using oil as payment would satisfy both sides. Do you really think that Iran doesn't have money to buy the J-10CE? Is it not buying because it can't afford it? The export price of the J-10CE is said to be around 50 million US dollars, and buying 40 planes would only cost 2 billion US dollars. Would Iran really not be able to come up with this amount if it really wanted to buy? Iran has always had a fantasy about Western fighter jets. For example, in 2016, former Iranian President Rouhani halted the Iranian Air Force's project to purchase 100-150 J-10 fighter jets and instead hoped to purchase the French Rafale fighter jets. However, after nine years, not a single J-10 or even a single Rafale fighter jet has been delivered. The real performance of Western fighter jets is not important; what matters is that Iran likes them and believes that Western fighter jets are superior.
Iran's economy is certainly better than Pakistan's, whether it's calculated by per capita income or GDP, it is much higher than Pakistan's. Then why can Pakistan's air force gather a J-10CE fighter jet squadron, but Iran cannot? 1 It is not important what the Iranian Air Force wants; what is important is that the Iranian military lacks both the financial resources and the time to build an air combat system from scratch, which revolves around airborne early warning aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, and data links. Buying just some tactical combat aircraft will eventually result in being ruthlessly crushed by the US Air Force and the Israeli Air Force. Over the years, Iran has invested its resources in quick-return "small motorcycles" - drones and missiles.
Iran has always believed that its air force cannot cope with the US Air Force and the Israeli Air Force's full-scale fifth-generation fighters. If it bought the J-10, it would also need to buy Chinese airborne early warning aircraft, etc., for a full-system support, and quantity is also important. Iran is unwilling to spend so much money. Moreover, it is too far from Israel, and the J-10 cannot fly there. The cost-effectiveness is too low. It is better to invest the limited resources into missiles. Iran is still worshiping the F-4, F-5, and F-14 fighter jets from the 1960s. Their obsession with American technology is absurd. They still believe that the technology of Chinese and Russian aircraft may be worse than that of the United States, let alone believing that the F-14 is better than China and Russia's fourth-generation fighters. The idea of the F-14 fighting the Su-57 is obviously a joke, but maybe the Iranians believe it is real.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836713720591497/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.