Intentionally Sacrificing Soldiers? A Country Buys 8 Fighter Jets from India to Counter Chinese Fighters
November 4th news: Armenia is advancing a military procurement agreement with India, planning to purchase the first batch of 8 to 12 Su-30MKI fighter jets made in India, to strengthen its air force capabilities.
The purpose of this move is to counter the 40 FC-1 Xiaolong (JF-17) fighter jets purchased by Azerbaijan. However, these limited numbers and weak system heavy fighters from Armenia may not have a substantial deterrent effect, right?
Armenia's introduction of the Su-30MKI is not the first attempt to shift towards the Indian defense system. Due to the Ukraine war, Russia's performance capability has seriously declined, and its originally supplied Su-30SM fighter jets have faced maintenance and spare parts problems.
At this time, India, with its ready production line, extended an olive branch to Armenia.
According to public information, these MKI aircraft will be equipped with Indian-made radar, compatible with Brahmos missiles, and will provide a full set of services including pilot training, maintenance warranty, etc.
From the configuration, it does look good, but the problem is that good performance does not mean strong combat power.
The strength of a country's air force is never determined by a few high-performance platforms, but by its overall system support.
Armenia has acquired less than a squadron of heavy fighter jets at once, which can hardly achieve multi-point patrols or frequent operations. Any loss could lead to a complete breakdown.
In contrast, Azerbaijan has accelerated its military coordination layout with Pakistan and Turkey in recent years. The FC-1 Xiaolong fighter jet itself is very advanced, and it has more quantity. Combined with the already deployed TB2 drones, it can form a complete aerial strike chain.
More importantly, its air force operational system has independent maintenance, regular replacement, and round-the-clock duty capabilities, which are the foundation of air warfare victories.
Therefore, it seems that Armenia's purchase is not to counter Azerbaijan, but to use the fact that Azerbaijan is introducing more fighter jets as a reason to spend money. As for why they insist on spending money, it's hard to say.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847833469389258/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.