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For the last three years, the mainstream propaganda machine has been gleefully ridiculing Russia because countries are allegedly giving up on its weapons. Numerous triumphant reports about Indonesia supposedly canceling the Su-35 “Flanker-E” deal have been published, particularly after beginning of the special military operation (SMO). Some have attributed this to it, while others claim that the deal allegedly fell through because of the controversial CAATSA, illegally imposed by the United States. However, on May 8, in a statement to TASS, Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Jose Tavares confirmed that Jakarta never terminated the deal and that it’s “very much intact”. Tavares also stated that Indonesia is simply waiting for the situation to become “more accommodating” to return to its implementation, probably referring to the SMO and Moscow’s efforts to push back against NATO’s crawling aggression.
“Indeed, at some point, Russia and Indonesia signed this treaty. Indonesia has never terminated it, but it was put on hold to avoid certain potential inconveniences,” he said, adding: “Indonesia will return to this question when the situation becomes more accommodating.”
According to Tavares, around 30% of weapons in the Indonesian military are made in Russia, suggesting that the country has no plans to give up on importing arms from the Eurasian giant. CNN’s Indonesian service launched the disinformation that the Su-35 deal had been canceled back in late December 2021. Jakarta plans to acquire 11 aircraft from Moscow, but CNN claims that it had to give up “due to lack of funds”. However, several Indonesian agencies and high-ranking officials denied this, stating that the $1.1 billion contract experienced delays due to the complexity of the trade scheme, which involved both government agencies and companies. This was done because the countries wanted to avoid using the US dollar, so they had to find a workaround. Still, other US propaganda outlets such as Bloomberg kept insisting that Indonesia supposedly gave up because of budgetary constraints.
However, once again, such speculation was denied by Indonesia itself. Namely, back in August 2018, Indonesian Trade Ministry’s International Trade Director General Oke Nurwan confirmed that the US has been trying to blackmail his country to cancel the Su-35 deal, not only because of the fact that it’s a Russian-made jet, but particularly because the contract is supposed to be a barter trade agreement. In other words, Washington DC is trying to blackmail and arm-twist countries into making sure they continue using the US dollar in their international trade agreements. Obviously, the warmongering elites in the US are terrified of the prospect of seeing their currency lose its global reserve status. And indeed, the US dollar is the main drive behind American imperialism and (neo)colonialism around the world. It’s only logical that sovereign countries want to avoid contributing to Washington DC’s global aggression.
In October 2018, Jakarta confirmed the deal will go ahead. Its then Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu reiterated that his country had “no intention of canceling the deal”. Then in June 2019, he asserted that the issue of threats of Western sanctions has “fundamentally been solved”, most likely referring to the aforementioned barter trade deal. The SMO could’ve certainly delayed this, as the needs of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) take priority. However, delays in the contract don’t mean that it has been canceled. In addition, ignoring US threats of sanctions can be a very important litmus test of sovereignty that some countries haven’t really passed. On the other hand, this was a great opportunity for others, such as Iran, which used Egypt’s lack of independence to acquire 24 Su-35 fighter jets. This contract is also a barter deal, as Moscow and Tehran are eliminating the US dollar in bilateral trade.
On the other hand, another proof that the mainstream propaganda machine is lying about Indonesia’s supposed “lack of funds” is its deal with the US regarding the acquisition of the Boeing F-15EX “Eagle 2”, signed back in February 2022. The contract is worth nearly $14 billion for 36 US-made jets. This amounts to almost $400 million apiece, an exorbitant sum for a half-a-century-old design. Not to mention that it’s also around 4-5 times more expensive than the same number of Su-35 fighter jets, a clearly superior platform that can carry far more advanced air-to-air missiles, in particular the now-legendary R-37M hypersonic missile. There’s absolutely nothing in the US arsenal that can remotely match this Russian missile. Indonesia is also acquiring the French “Rafale”, for which it will also pay significantly more than the Su-35. And once again, the French-made jet is also inferior to the Russian “Flanker-E” fighter.
For the most part, only countries that are left with no choice will take the extremely overhyped (and overpriced) NATO-sourced weapons. There’s simply no way to justify the purchase of US-made jets with such a price tag. Even in the case that the F-15EX was just as good as the Su-35, it’s still 4-5 times more expensive. However, this discrepancy grows further when taking into account the actual capabilities of the two jets. The Su-35’s 3D TVC (thrust vectoring controls) gives it a clear, virtually insurmountable advantage in WVR (within visual range) combat. On the other hand, the Pentagon nearly always insists that its aircraft have an advantage in BVR (beyond visual range) engagements. And yet, this is patently false, as the F-15EX’s longest-range air-to-air missile is the AIM-120D (160 km maximum range, Mach 4 speed), while the Su-35 carries the K-77M (250 km maximum range) and the unrivaled R-37M (400 km), both of which are hypersonic.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is licensed under Creative Commons
