Indonesia Inks $1.1B Su-35 Fighters Contract, Deliveries To Begin In August

Indonesia and Russia have inked a contract to purchase 11 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets worth $1.14 billion last week, an official told Saturday.

"Two units of Sukhoi jets will be delivered in August 2018," Indonesia defence ministry spokesman Totok Sugiharto told AFP.

Another six jets would be delivered 18 months after the contract comes into effect, and the final three a further five months later, he said.

It was not announced Saturday in what form payment would be made.

The deal comes after Indonesia said in August that it would seek to trade palm oil, coffee and tea for Russian fighter jets, saying it wanted to capitalise on international sanctions on Moscow.

The EU and US have targeted Russia with sanctions for alleged meddling in the US presidential election and its annexation of Crimea.

However, Indonesia's trade minister said the sanctions could be good news for his country as Russia is forced to seek new markets to import from.

Indonesia and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange 11 Russian-made Sukhoi fighters for key commodities in Moscow early August.