Russia to swap fighter jets for passenger aircraft

Airline Industry Information, Oct 18, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Russia has offered to swap 12 Sukhoi fighter jets for 50 aircraft made by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer in a deal worth USD1.5bn.

The Russian government is said to be keen to swap the fighter jets for the Embraer 170/175 and 190/195 regional aircraft despite its insistence that airlines buy more domestic passenger aircraft. The deal is expected to go through in November 2004 with the Russian national carrier Aeroflot being the recipient of the new Embraer aircraft.

It is thought that the Russian government is looking for new ways to use the Sukhoi jets after China failed to guarantee that it would continue to buy the fighter aircraft after its current contract expires in 2006, reports Reuters.

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