Russia is flexing its military muscles not only by participating in the Syrian conflict, but also by selling its Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to countries with ties to the United States.
According to Fox News, Russia has made deals to sell the fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. The country has sold the jets to China as well.
The UAE currently uses the advanced version of the F-16 fighter jet, and the U.S. military has F-22 Raptors stationed there. But despite the UAE's interest in the American-made F-35, the U.S. has declined to make it available — which forced the Arab nation to approach Russia about its jet.
The Fox report surmises Russian President Vladimir Putin is using his jets as a way to become friendlier with some of America's allies.
"One of Russia's majors goals is to reassert itself as a major global power," Hannah Thoburn of the think tank Hudson Institute told Fox. "That means returning back to what it used to do during the days of the Soviet Union and doing things like this."
Russia is also involved in the Syrian conflict, conducting airstrikes on a regular basis. Critics of former President Barack Obama said his hesitation to put U.S. forces in Syria opened the door for Russia to flex its military muscles — which included sending a flotilla of ships through the English Channel on their way to the Middle East last fall.
Israel remains the only Middle Eastern country to whom the U.S. has sold an F-35 fighter jet. That nation received its first two in December.
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