MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) – MiG and Sukhoi, two Russian aircraft makers, are threatened by the emerging competition of cheaper Chinese aircraft models after the sale of RD-93 jet engines from China, the local Ria Novosti news agency reported on Monday.

Rosoboronexport, the Russian state arms exporter, plans to sign a contract with China on the delivery of 100 RD-93 engines for FC-1 fighters, the direct competition of the MiG-29 Fulcrum aircraft. The FC-1 Xiaolong is a single-engine fighter aircraft developed by China and Pakistan.

A MiG official said that the re-export of technologies must be approved by the original manufactured to avoid unfair competition. On the other hand, Rosoboronexport replied that the decision of permitting the re-export of technology can be only made by the government and the manufactures have never been consulted on this matter.

The MiG-29 has a superior performance than the FC-1 but its price is over three times more. A MiG-29 costs around $35 million, in contrast to the $10 million in which is sold the FC-1.

Last year, Russia accused China of stealing the idea of the J-11BS fighter jet from Sukhoi's Su-27SK; the only difference being that the Chinese jet has two seats and the Russian one not.

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