Algeria orders three Su-24 undelivered to the Russian Ministry of Defence due to inability to fund

Published: 8/4/1999

According to reports Novosibirsk based NAPO will deliver three Su-24s to Algeria. The Russian Ministry of Defence originally ordered the three aircraft, but due to budget constraints the aircraft could not be paid for and were therefore sold elsewhere. According to Magmat Smoyan of NAPO, the contract for the aircraft was signed with the assistance of the Novosibirsk Region Governor, Vitaly Mukha. Under the contract the sale will generate $12m for NAPO. The press report in RBC also says that Vitaly Mukha managed to increase the state expenditure on the SU-24 from 80m to 250m rubles in 1999,although the report does not explain exactly what this increased expenditure entails. The Russian Air Force however, took delivery of 365 aircraft so they have considerable refurbishment requirements. The reports do not detail which variant of the Su-24 is being delivered to Algeria, but it seems likely that it is the Su-24 MK, the export version of the Air Force's Su-24M.

Article ID: 730