According to the August issue of Kanwa magazine, citing an authoritative source in the Russian aviation industry, the Russian side became aware of the fact that the first carrier-based fighter J15 and the second batch of J11B fighters were produced in the PRC at the end of 2009. During acceptance tests conducted by the PRC Air Force, the J11B vibrations have arisen in the air, so the Air Force still refuses to accept 16 aircraft.
“To be honest, we expected all this. This destroyed the last remnants of our trust in China,”the source said. The copying of military equipment was carried out after the signing in December 2008 of the Russian-Chinese agreement on the protection of intellectual property in the field of military equipment. This testifies to the complete uselessness of the agreement. "Why was the Russian side at that time so inclined to sign it?" - the magazine asks.
In response, the source told Kanwa the following: “We knew for sure that the PRC would not stop the copying work that was already underway. If the funds have already been invested, then it is impossible to stop the work. However, having an agreement is better than no agreement at all. In addition, we also hoped that after the signing of the agreement, the PRC would at least inform us about the copied samples of Russian weapons or pay at least some compensation. However, none of this happened. On one occasion, high-ranking officers of the Chinese fleet received Russian colleagues on their patrol ships in the Gulf of Aden. Our officers immediately determined that the radars installed on Chinese ships (frigates of project 054A) were a copy of Russian products. But they were told: “These are not copies. We only used your radars as a model, borrowing some interesting solutions."
“We recently had a special meeting with representatives of the defense industry. We discussed MTC issues with China. We asked different manufacturers the same question: "What is the share of the fulfillment of orders for the PRC in the total volume of your production?" The answer was about the same - "insignificant". Not a single agreement has been signed this year. The contracts being implemented mainly relate to the supply of AL-31F, RD-93 engines, etc. We plan to break the agreement with the PRC on the transfer of technologies for the production lines of the Su-27SK fighter, as we learned that the aircraft engines supplied through it are already being installed on the J11B fighters. At the same time, the Russian defense industry and even the Ministry of Defense are somehow trying to resolve these issues with the PRC, but at a higher political level they have their own vision. Therefore, we continue to supply spare parts within the framework of previously signed agreements!"
“In our opinion, copying under the J15 project and similar activities are an indicator that the Chinese industry has reached a new quantitative and qualitative level of development. In terms of purchases, the PRC shows interest only in the S-400 air defense system. But we answer that Beijing should be at the end of the line. It takes two to three years before the S-400 system goes into true mass production. By that time, we must resolve the issues of copying, identify and agree on the needs of Russia and other countries that have submitted applications earlier, etc."
“MTC with China began when Russia was going through a difficult economic situation. Now the situation has changed, since then we have not stopped at the place, we have new markets and an internal order”.
Kanwa magazine has its own speculation. Over the past 15 years, Russian policy towards the PRC has often been open and, at times, overregulated. The dynamics depended on the state of Russia's relations with the United States and NATO. According to Kanwa, the current changes are fundamental: it is no longer so important what the state of relations between Russia, the United States and NATO is in. The ban on the export of Russian military technologies to China has become a reality - it is likely that spring will not return to bilateral relations.
