Originally Posted by
Royalistflyer
And of course the Americans would never dream of cutting off spare parts to a customer who didn't toe their line. No, perish the thought.
Reading glasses required as I did say 'even without the politics'.
US & European aviation does have the capacity and resources to support their export jets where as Russia struggles to do so. Those who purchase a Russian product often finds themselves with a pile of dead engines, a brace of unsupported LRUs and a wall of silence over technical issues.
Even those who have paid handsomely for their aircraft and achieved contractual through-life support have had considerable issues (e.g. India). Those without such muscle usually fair much worse. Often this includes Russian forces.
Again, I am not questioning the ability for the US and Europe to turn-off the support tap, just noting the inability for Russia to turn the tap on in the first place.