China is actively seeking to export the L-15 aircraft to the Emirates with a UAE production license to produce 48 aircraft to replace the Emirates' aging BAE Hawk and Aermacchi MB-339 trainer aircraft. While Saudi Arabia wants an advanced training aircraft and a light attack aircraft, China offers the L-15B version as a combat and attack version. China promotes L-15B to Saudi Arabia as an alternative to the F-16 Emirates’ requests for an advanced training bird go back to 2009, when it negotiated with Alenia Aermacchi company for the Emirates to produce it locally. The negotiations failed and stopped in 2011, and the M346 is sold at a price of 50 million dollars for contracts in 2020. It is an exaggerated price, and the contracts for the M346 plane are mostly corrupt and suspicious. Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, so it contracted quickly and therefore many countries rejected it The M346 & L-15 planes are all derived from the Russian YAK-130 aircraft, and the Russian and Chinese planes are marketed at a price of 15-20 million dollars. The price of Italian rose from 30 to 50 million dollars, so only some European countries buy it in small numbers The L-15Z was sold to the Zambian Air Force at a price of $15 million And Emirates may ask for it with distinctive specifications at a price between 20-25 million dollars, and it is considered a cheap solution in working as a COIN/CAS LIFT plane The plane also has a UCAV version
that was tested in 2013 The capabilities of the L-15 depend on the copies produced The current production versions are L-15AW, a non-afterburner motorized version, equipped with a New holographic HUD with a 2800-3000kg thrust engine. LIFT COIN L-15B نسخة version Equipped with an afterburner, capacities between 4.5-5 tons for each engine, which provides total thrust capabilities between 18400-22045 pounds AI-222-28F (thrust 4500 kg afterburning) and AI-222-30F (5000 kg thrust afterburning ) engines An unmanned version of the UCAV was flown in 2013, and the Emirates could produce a version similar to the GJ-11 as the Loyal Wingman.
This is what makes the deal special, and consequently, the Emirates expands its production lines to the Gulf and export, especially since the Emirates have customers in African and Arab countries, which will facilitate marketing for them. The plane is equipped with the SD-10 missile, and it was tested in 2018 in the Chinese Navy, and more than one SD-10 missile was successfully launched As well as the PL-10E missiles The Chinese plane will provide the new versions with a large screen display instead of the current cabin AESA radar, whether Italian or Chinese, is also available The plane was presented to Egypt in 2010 to be produced locally in Egyptian production lines that have been suspended since 2011. The plane has a good future market as a result of China’s capabilities to develop it and equip it with various weapons, which makes it a cheap platform for delivering advanced munitions. In the Yemeni Houthi theater, killing Yemeni militias flying is much better than using heavy aircraft such as F-15 and TYPHOON, with several times the operating hours cost less . Especially with America's successive refusal to supply the F-16 to Saudi Arabia, which are sold at a price of 150 million dollars
The fact that the Emiratis are more flexible in exporting and the ability to give personal benefits to those with influence in different countries to pass arms deals and UAE sales to them will make the Emiratis easily market them to many countries, including exporting to Egypt itself as an option available to Egypt among several options
The plane represents for the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt a very cheap and flexible solution in all ways and the possibility of producing multiple derivative versions of it
UCAV
LIFT
LIGHT MULTIROLE FIGHTER Low thermal and radar signature
LOW Ownership and operational Hour Cost
Ease of technology transfer, as China is a complete producer of the aircraft, except for the Ukrainian engine, which is easily exported, especially Ukraine's good relations with Arab and African countries
China meets all the required modifications and even accepts the integration of European and American components into the plane
New Chinese COCKPIT training aircraft modular shape