The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war began to have an impact on the support for repair and spare parts for defense equipment, where countries using Russian-made weapons began to experience various difficulties. Problems that stick out such as the technique of sending planes/helicopters to Russia, down to payment patterns. Understandably, the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia are quite a lot, including the banking sector.
Prior to the war, with the implementation of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), countries using Russian-made defense equipment could still rely on the Belarusian 'line' for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) purposes. However, recently Belarus has also been subject to the same sanctions by the West, because Belarus is allied with Russia in the current conflict.
Regarding the above, recently there was news from Uganda, that the African country has entered into an agreement with the Indian aerospace manufacturer - Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to support the MRO project for the Sukhoi Su-30MK fleet of the Ugandan Air Force.
Quoted from eurasiantimes.com (22/3/2022), the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has opened up new markets, especially for India. On March 4, Uganda's Ministry of Defense signed an MoU with India for the maintenance and technical support of the Sukhoi Su-30MK jets it purchased from Russia more than a decade ago.
Information from Wikipedia.org, states that the Ugandan Air Force operates five Su-30MK units, in addition to the second-tier fighters in the form of five MiG-21 units.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which has a manufacturing license for the Sukhoi SU-MK30I, said it was ready to serve Ugandan fighter jet MRO services.
The spokesman for the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF), Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Kakurungu, said that the Su-30MK fleet was used in "Operation Shujaa", in the hunt for ADF fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in November 2021. Uganda was the first African country to purchase the jets. Russian Su-30 fighter in 2011.
Su-30MKA cockpit
Departing from the case experienced by Uganda, of course it will be a special concern for countries using defense equipment from Russia.
Like Indonesia, so far the MRO of the Indonesian Air Force's Sukhoi fighter jets has been carried out in Belarus. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Army's Mi-35P Puspenerbad attack helicopter has undergone MRO in Russia.
Air Force Chief of Staff (KSAU) Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo once revealed that Western countries' sanctions against Russia will at least have an impact on the maintenance of the main weapons system equipment (defense equipment) and spare parts of the Indonesian Air Force. He said the impact would not only be experienced by Indonesia, but also other countries.
"Obviously it will affect something more or less, not only the equipment that comes from there, I think the whole world is watching. More or less there will be changes," said Fadjar after the 2022 TNI AU Leadership Meeting, Friday (4/3/2022).
Even so, Fadjar said the impact would not greatly affect the maintenance of Indonesian defense equipment. Because, he said, the Indonesian Air Force has long been preparing spare parts for long-term maintenance.
Apart from what the KSAU said, it should be noted that the engine life of the Russian fighter jet is relatively short, thus, the MRO anticipation for the Su-30 TNI AU needs to be observed from now on. Apart from India, China also has the capability for the MRO Sukhoi series, although it will require adaptation and a process that is not necessarily easy.
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