algeria alarmed at israeli systems in its sukhoi su-30mkas
algeria is demanding an explanation from russia fir the high-level of israeli avionics in its
defense-arab.comon the 1st aircraft, delivered in 2007. The aaf is alarmed that the main mission computer, the nerve centre of the su-30mka has been heavily influenced by israeli technologies & interfaces into an israel aerospace industries elta el/m8222 ew system & elbit systems su967 hud.
Real concerns have been raised that the new generation flanker's avionics could become a target of cyber warfare from the jewish state in the event of hostilities. Algeria has no test or evaluation unit & took russia's word that there was no israeli equipment on the aircraft.
Unlike the su-30mkm delivered to the royal malaysian air force, algeria did not customise their su-30mkas to their own specifications, prefering to opt for the su-30mki systems that include french, israeli, russian & indian avionics.
There are far-reaching consequences with this discovery, because algeria is now raising questions about the level of israeli systems integrated into its newly purchased satellite systems, acquired from istrium & also many other of its military systems.
Algeria already has a track record of withdrawing from use plateforms with israeli equipment & then abandoning further dealings with the relevant manufacturer.
2 vip eurocopter ec225 helicos, "7t-wva" & "7t-wvb" were retired, some 4 years after receving them, when they were discovered to have elbit avionics. They are now up for sale.
The mig-29 fiasco in may 2007 resulted in algeria returning to russia 15 jets & subsequently cancelling the deal, claiming they were of inferior quality. The 2 countries settled their differences & a deal for 28 su-30mkas was agreed instead. With deliveries between 2007 & 2009.
Against this background, the future is unclear for the su-30mka & other russian deals with algeria, including the 16 yakovlev yak-130. If algeria decides to cut off ties with russia over this latest issue, the russian air force could face major repercussions in its re-equipment plans, as much of the financing of this comes from export orders.
Algeria could now start a new fighter competition for up to 60 aircraft, excluding russia.
Afm février 2012
