New Batch Of Su-35 Jets For China To Get Onboard Readout Systems In Russian

China's Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter aircraft, which are expected to be delivered by this year end, will be fitted with onboard readout systems that display data in Russian language.

Russia will configure the onboard systems of the military aircraft the same way as that of aircraft it supplies to the country's own Aerospace Forces. Hence, as the Su-35 aircraft will be fitted with BeiDou onboard navigation system modules, all of the planes’ readout systems will be displaying data in Russian, Sputnik News reported Monday.

The decision to supply Su-35 aircraft to China in this particular configuration was made by the customer, Givi Janjgava, Deputy CEO of the Radio-Electronic Technology Concern (KRET), a Rostec subsidiary, said. Adapting onboard systems in accordance with our customer's national specifications is a major technical procedures, Janjgava added.

“We spent the entire year translating all data readout systems in the cockpit into Chinese. However, unlike Cyrillic and Latin inscriptions, hieroglyphics are hard to read from LCD screens.”,  he added. Therefore, the China said that Russia can leave everything 'as is'. Moreover, PLA pilots already have experience in flying Russian Su-27s with cockpits not adapted for China, and learned to 'read' onboard information in Russian.

Su-35 features a glass cockpit, with LCD screens replacing traditional analog dials and gauges. However, data presented on Su-35 screens in Chinese hieroglyphs is too small and blurred to be legible.

“While the problem could have technically been solved by installing bigger displays, it would have essentially required remodeling the entire cockpit thus requiring additional funding and more time for testing and development.”, he said.

Russian Aerospace Forces employ 48 Sukhoi-35S multirole fighter aircraft. However, due to the aircraft’s exemplary performance during the airborne campaign in Syria, Russian military decided to demand 50 additional warplanes of this type.