Belarus to modernize its fleet of Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighter.

Belarus will upgrade its Sukhoi Su-27, said Friday in Minsk the chairman of the Belarusian State Committee for the defense industry Sergei Gouroulev.

"The Department of Defense recognizes that these aircraft can be modernized. The State Committee for the defense industry is ready to perform a thorough modernization," M.Gouroulev told reporters.

The Su-27 fighters will be equipped with new avionics, new weapons and defense systems, including air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground ammunitions.
The Belarusian Air Force currently has more than 10 Su-27 deployed to the 61th Air Base Baranovitchi, not far from the border with Poland and Ukraine.

The commander of the Air Force and Air Defence Troops of Belarus Oleg Dvigalev announced on November 14 that the Belarusian Armed Forces had wished to renounce using the Su- 27 whose operating cost was deemed too expensive and impractical for Belarus with its small territory. However, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called the Air Force of his country not to abandon the use of Sukhoi aircraft.