Russian Su-35 fighter jet (Image: RT.com)

Russia has signed an estimated $2 billion contract for the supply of about 12 Su-35 multi-role fighter jets to Egypt.

The agreement for the supply of ‘over two dozen aircraft’ and aviation aids will amount to $2 billion. The signing of the contract was carried out at the end of 2018 and the delivery of the aircraft will begin as early as 2020-21,” Kommersant news daily reported quoting two top managers of defense industry enterprises Monday.

Details of the said contract were not specified as to when the contract was signed. The report suggested that the signing of the contract took place towards the end of 2018.

The first reports about Egypt’s willingness to buy 12 Su-35 fighters appeared in 2017. The confirmation and negotiation started after the fighters were used during the Russian operation in Syria. These aircraft will replace obsolete Mig-21s and Chinese J-7 derivatives, the source stated.

(Note: The article is an excerpt and translation of a Kommersant’s Russian report.)