In mid-2025, military sources in Vietnam began circulating unconfirmed rumors that new multi-billion-dollar contracts with Russia were imminent.
Documents from Rostec identify Vietnam under the discreet label “Customer 704.” According to the sources and those documents, one deal could be worth ~$8 billion and include up to 40 new fighter jets.
Odd for a US ally.
North Vietnam was 100% a Russian proxy in the Vietnam War, and they won, so despite any convenient economic alliance with America, they will always have a friendly relationship with Russia.
I wonder how Vietnamese feel about their government basically giving 8 billion USD (2% of GDP) to Russia for something they will might not even get and if they do it’ll be inferrior tech to anything else. Su-35 has been a real failure in Ukraine war and widely considered to be objecftively worse than F-16V and Rafale fighters and China’s J-16s which Vietnamese SU-35s would be likely engaging and training for.
I did a bit of research of what are Vietnams fighter options for new class fighters:
- US F-16V - Vietnam already has deals for these and generally agreed that it’s the best option for them aside from unstable US needing to diversify here
- France’s Rafale - Vietnam and France already signed large defence deals and it’s a very good option here too.
- China - no deal at all given that China is the most likely future combatant here for these weapons.
So this seems like a blatant, inexcusable payment to the ruzzies which is such a shame to see. I hope they never see the planes and if they do they fall apart immediately together with the current ruzzi empire.
They likely don’t mind. Historically Soviet Union and successor Russia for arms industry has been Vietnams primary arms supplier. It’s not like France ever tried to make serious amends with any of their former colonies and the hundreds of thousands to millions killed in the process. It’s just business with France as if nothing ever happened. Same with the US. The same thing is happening currently across Africa. Russia is a less opinionated arms supplier and don’t have the baggage that France and the US have in the regions
War with China is unlikely anytime soon. Vietnams focus is primarily on its economy and building it’s own defense industry for both domestic and export. So all they need is modern enough with preference for cost. Russian fighter jets are cheap. Sure they’d be better off with a J-10c or J-35 but Sukhoi jets are diplomacy too and affordable and capable enough for peacetime. Turkey and India buy S400’s and India buys Sukhoi. With historic weapons purchased from Russia, integration and local parts and mechanics are probably more abundant.
They’re also fairly non-aligned so they import from Russia, China, and the US and in regards to the US, after the Vietnam war they were under sanctions for decades with US arms being made available I think in the last decade. Vietnam
Vietnams primary trade partner is China and once you hit the 90s as Vietnam would be under major sanctions for much of that decade, China was Vietnams market to export to. And it took until the past decade for exports to the US to really pickup. Then Trump 2 happens and they were initially slapped with one of the highest tariff from the US in the world.
Vietnam buying arms from Russia is reflected in historical relations that have been dependable and what has seemed to me rapid improvements in relations with China, the US and Europe themselves dropped the ball with Vietnam. First France and the US by not recognizing Vietnamese independence leading Ho Chi Minh to ally with the communist. Then the decades of sanctions. Then the tariffs
So Vietnams relationship with China have improved a ton since Trump 1. Stuff that didn’t happen before like Chinese military marching at independence parades in Vietnam with notable performance like learning the Vietnamese victory or maybe anthem (I don’t know which) and singing it well. Increasingly war with China is becoming unlikely as Vietnam focuses on its economy and increases trade with China and military sales from China increases.
Rafales are very expensive and US weapons imports come with very stringent rules for usage and limits on what a country can purchase. Turkey and India buy S400, no F-35. Maybe you get limited on ammunition too after sanctions from the US. Also US jets are expensive too along with lifetime upkeep costs.
Plus the case of war with China, of China stopped building fighter jets for the next 10 years and France sent all the Rafales they could build in ten years to Vietnam, in war with China, those Rafales would be demolished. Same with F-16’s, Eurofighters, Gripens, Su-35, probably Su-57, probably the future Su-75. Why spend so much money on aircraft in defense against China when China’s surface to air missiles would demolish them before even needing to send out J-10c, J-16, J-20, J-35 fighters. F-16, Gripens, Rafale, Eurofighter - those are obsolete in a war with China especially when sharing a border. Really the jets are for posturing among other southeast asian countries
Re-emphasize that France and the US have not been friendly with Vietnam for all that long and far from enough to be well built trusting relationships
So ya, Russia are bastards for invading Ukraine. Doesn’t make Su-35’s a bad purchase for Vietnam. Russia has been delivering aircraft to Algeria and Iran and Vietnam is likely not under urgent need for fighters like Iran. Vietnam right now doesn’t seem like war is anytime near. Better off with cheap Russian equipment and continue improving relations with China and someday maybe purchase J-35’s. Maybe some frigates
what a big wall of absolute nonsense.
Respond to my points. Vietnam isn’t close to war with China. Russia is their primary arms supplier and has been for decades. China arms exports to Vietnam are be becoming more frequent. Military drills and attendance of military parades are occuring now that did not happen just 10 years ago. China is Vietnams largest source for imports and growing for exports.
Tell me why is war with China going to happen when China is focused on Taiwan and Vietnam is in the process of an economic boom where China is a major market with a trade route that can’t be interrupted? They share a border
France and the US literally killed millions of Vietnamese and then proceeded to sanction the crap out of them to sub-Saharan Africa levels of poverty. Vietnam had to build trade relations outside of the NATO world. The US literally threatened a 48% tariff on Vietnam half a year ago. Tariffed Vietnam back during Trump admin #1 as well
Your posts makes it very clear you’re new to international arms sales happenings. You just need to study arms sales history and equipment capabilities. Tell me why dozens of Rafale, F-16, Gripens, Eurofighters, or Sukhois would be a problem for China’s surface to air defenses let alone hundreds of J-20 and J-35s before the 1000+ J-11, J-15, J-16 and J-10’s. The cheapest is the best choice because the most expensive won’t be any more useful. Are Vietnam buying AWACs and large radar systems too? If not, these 4th gen jet fighters are even more useless against China
Tell me why is war with China going to happen
Are you living under a rock or something? Vietnam’s number 1 security issue is China and nobody else.
I go to Vietnam at least once a year and Vietnam hates China as it’s really the only security challenge in the region. Cambodia and Laos are buffer zones that will never evolve into anything serious ever and other neighbours are an ocean away. To add, there’s a big cultural clash between Vietnamese and Chinese that is out of scope of this thread.
South-China Sea conflict is literally the biggest brewing issue in the region and you’d be an idiot to say otherwise.
Also bringing in WW2 and Vietnam-US war is so incredibly out of touch. Most Vietnamese have long forgotten the french and the americans and if anything got significantly closer to both than to China.
The jets there are 100% for south-china sea conflict hot or posturing. You think they will send them to fight US tarrifs? What are you even talking about. Again, a huge wall of utter rubbish.
Congrats you’re a tourist to Vietnam. The US wasn’t elevated to a similar diplomatic level as China until 2023. 2 years of solid diplomatic relations compared to at least 15 years with China. 2 years until the Trump tariffs. The war with the US may have ended in the 70s but the bulk of sanctions didn’t end until towards the end of the 90s and US arms sales being made available the last decade have not even been close enough of high volume to displace Russian equipment in the Vietnamese military.
Factions within the party that either favor the US, Russia, China or neutrality. According to your article they just purchased Russian fighter jets. They’ve been buying Russian military equipment damn near every year for a long time. Vietnam and China have been signing new trade deals just this year. They held their first joint army drills together just this year.
Geographic neighbors are your worst risk for war but the ones that also end up your primary trade partner and the power imbalance so very much favors China that being a China hawk in Vietnam may as well be suicide. Right now Vietnam is progressing towards a Mexico relationship with China but a lot more prosperous and safe than Mexico
The tension in the South China Sea is far more tense with the Philippines. If any war is happening in the next 20 years it’s with them and I doubt that happening too. Past 20 years and at that point any 4th gen fighter is even more outdated than today.
The US didn’t even attend the most recent independence parade in Vietnam, China did with their military in the parade for the first time this year. Vietnam participated in victory day parades this year in China and Russia. Those were likely planned before Trump 48% tariff threat.
It seems to me you’re more outdated in your views. The current 4th gen fighters are not going to be useful in the South China Sea. Not this decade or the next. The military gap between Vietnam and China is growing rather than closing and it’ll be a long time until that changes. So right now it makes sense that Vietnam continues to increase trade, tourism, military cooperation with China while balancing with Russia and the US. Vietnam isn’t close to war with China. Vietnam is shaping up to be neutral between whatever conflicts China may be in the next couple decades
Your a tourist to Vietnam. You probably want war between the two countries so whatever your country is has the opportunity to have better relations with Vietnam or for China to be preoccupied with them in war rather than your country. But for Vietnamese people in Vietnam, I highly doubt they’re as jingoistic for war with China like people that don’t live in Vietnam. They’re the ones that would die. Vietnam balances relations with China, the US, and Russia and the US is late to the modern Vietnamese diplomatic party compared to China and especially compared to Russia. That’s the prevailing foreign policy of Vietnam and this year has been a year of China and Russia gaining in Vietnam, not the US.
Things change. Just this year. Like read the latest RAND Corp policy opinion report on China-Taiwan. Crazy shift in strategy opinion for a historically influential think thank in the US. Countries you see as potentially strong counterbalances to China aren’t going to be so hawkish with China when the US and EU are getting skittish. The South China Sea conflict will continue but Vietnam won’t have much ability there for decades and economic growth will prioritize over military so continued improving trade relations with China will be priority over very small islands in the South China Sea. A compromise that they’d rather be more in their favor but can’t be for economic and military reasons
Man you’re talking out of your ass. I’ve been visiting Vietnam for over 10 years now, I live in SEA and have many Vietnamese friends with whom we discuss world politics and here you are saying that Vietnam and China has no tensions in the South China Sea when that’s by far the #1 geopolitical issue in the region.
Not even going to entertain your walls of nonsense anymore as you’re just building strawmen and attacking me. Get lost troll.
You’ve been attacking me. I’m not saying there’s not tensions. I’m saying the tensions are cooling. Probably heat up again in the future but it’s not 2015. A lot has changed just this year in terms of governmental agreements between the two countries
Sounds strange.
Is Russia even capable of providing 40 jets in current circumstances?
Oil payments? Russia will import 8 billion worth of oil from Vietnam?
Very-very strange. Bullshitty, I would say. But this world is strange and bullshitty, so who knows…
You could read the article and yes that’s the whole point that Vietnam will likely never receive the jets it’s just a way to take take Vietnamese tax payer’s money and use it to sponsor ruzis.
Vietnam owes Russia 8B for the deal -> instead of paying which would void sanctions, they join with ruzis to help them launder oil and gas -> ruzis launder 8B oil/gas profits through Vietnam -> Vietnam maybe gets the jets in several decades if ruzia doesn’t collapse.
Is it just me or I’m a misunderstanding the word covert
It’s like covfefe but more erty. Ast Trump for details.
No thanks. I prefer the truth.
Wow-wow, you’re a picky one. Good luck finding the truth nowadays…
Wait, didn’t an association between 'Nam and Russia cause a pretty huge problem for the US a generation or two ago?
