Fighter aircraft in the current unstable and controversial policies is an important trump card that can cool many hotheads. So the presence of modern machines with high combat efficiency is an important goal for the domestic defense industry. One of the best is the Su-30 SM fighter, the characteristics of which we will analyze in this article.
Prototype birth
The progenitor, that is, the Su-30 plane, although it was produced in large batches in the Russian Federation, was created in the USSR. So, back in 1988, work began to improve the performance of the Su-27. It is known that the distinguishing feature of this aircraft was a navigation system that was beautiful at that time, as well as the possibility of refueling in the air. The resulting machines were supposed to be used for air defense. Due to the ability to long flight, they would be the best suited for patrolling the airspace of the country.
The serial Su-30 first flew in the spring of 1992. Almost immediately, the car became a real sensation, since at a cost many times lower than that of all foreign analogues, it was several times superior to them in terms of combat performance. It is not surprising that not only domestic specialists, but also potential customers abroad became immediately interested in the fighter.
Aircraft purpose
This aircraft is a modern and highly maneuverable fighter, which is used to gain unconditional air supremacy. It acts well as part of a group, it can hit ground and surface targets, including strike naval groups of the enemy.
Development start
It all started back in 1994, when negotiations were held with India on the supply of Su-27 fighters. Even then, the Indians hinted that they would not mind buying even more maneuverable aircraft, and the Russian army urgently needed new cars.
But the need for new technology was dictated not only by the needs of export. The main reason why the Su-30 SM aircraft appeared, the photo of which you will find in our article, is an incomplete realization of the potential that was put into a simple “thirty” by its creators.
Particularly promising was the possibility of a massive destruction of ground targets: a machine that was "carrying" two pilots at once, having good "autonomy" and a flight range, and even carrying eight tons of ammunition, definitely had excellent prospects to turn into the main striking force of the domestic air force.
Designing a new fighter began in 1995. The chief designer of the project is A.F. Barkovsky. In 1996, the same India had already signed a contract for the supply of 40 new cars of various classes. It was assumed that export batches would go with a gradual improvement in the tactical and technical properties of aircraft. The executors of the State order are the various enterprises of the Sukhoi holding, the head department is the Irkutsk Aircraft Building Plant.
Prototypes
The first two Su-30 SM, the characteristics of which you will find in the article, were built in the period from 1995 to 1998. The first machine, created on the nodes of the standard Su-30, took off in 1997. An experienced tester V. Yu. Averyanov sat at the helm. From the middle of the same year, a large-scale program began to test and refine new machines in order to prepare for their mass production. It began in 2000. At the same time, the first pre-production fighter was tested by Averyanov. According to the results of these tests, three prototypes were transferred to the Design Bureau for planned research and modernization.
Start of supply
Delivery, in full accordance with the terms of the contract, was carried out in three stages. The first batch of 10 cars went to the customer in 2002, 12 Su-30 SM aircraft, whose characteristics delighted the customer, were sent in 2003. Already in 2004, two Indian squadrons were completely re-equipped with these machines at once.
How is the new car different from its predecessor?
So, what are the hallmarks of the new fighter, and how does it differ from its predecessor? Here is a short list of them:
- For the first time, an engine with a variable thrust vector was installed on a mass-produced fighter, and a remote control system operating in a single complex was installed on the machine. This is what made the new car so maneuverable.
- In addition, the integration of avionics systems was carried out, both imported and domestic production. The machine was to some extent created "international", as its components were obtained from 14 manufacturers from six countries of the world.
- A radar with a rotary headlamp is also another innovation, which until then was uncharacteristic of the domestic aircraft building complex. Finally, the Su-30 SM aircraft received a completely new ejection seat. What is especially nice is the Russian design.
- The range of missiles used was greatly expanded, which makes the new aircraft a much more versatile and formidable weapon of the Russian Air Force.
Basic performance characteristics
- Take-off weight (maximum) - 34 500 kg.
- The length of the airframe is 21.9 m.
- Height in the highest part of the hull - 6.36 m.
- Flight range (maximum) - 2125 km / h.
- The optimal radius of combat use is 1,500 km.
- The number of crew is two pilots.
What is the new aircraft armed with?
- The latest system of airborne radar radar Bars-R. It allows you to identify and track several targets automatically.
- Managed missiles. Class - “air-to-air” or “air-to-surface”.
- Bombs controlled and unmanaged. In total there are 12 pylons for their suspension.
- The maximum weight of weapons on board is 8000 kg.
- For close combat can also use the 30-mm built-in gun GSH-30-1, characteristic of the entire domestic combat aircraft.
Equipped with a wide range of different weapons, the fighter is able to solve almost all typical tasks: from maneuverable close combat to long-range contact, when the destruction of the enemy occurs without visual contact with him. Guided and uncontrolled weapons of the Su-30 SM makes it possible to destroy the enemy on land and on water. By the totality of all the characteristics, this fighter rightly circumvents even many of the novelties of the foreign military-industrial complex, even if its design is already far from one year old!
Considering that for the first time in the history of Russian aircraft construction, this technique was used for the first time to use an open-circuit weapon system, the modernization of the Su-30 SM, the characteristics of which we are considering, is significantly simplified.
International recognition
The credibility of this aircraft was hard to earn. According to many foreign experts, the collapsed Russian "defense industry" simply physical could not give out anything worthwhile, and therefore initially the interest in our technology was dismissive and skeptical. But everything has changed after several international exercises. At that time, many realized that they greatly underestimated the Russian aircraft. However, some experts were more perspicacious: when they received information about the modernized Su-27s, which were also delivered to India, they highly praised the characteristics of this aircraft.
Even these aircraft, the improvement of which became the Su-30 SM aircraft, whose performance is much better, managed to establish themselves as reliable and high-class military equipment. After that, the high command of the Indian Air Force decided that the level of their pilots quite allows them to reconcile with the American pilots. This happened during the Cope India-2004 exercises, when the US F-15C became the opponents of the Hindu Su-30 SM, photos of which are in the article.
Other facts
The results are somewhat discouraged by supporters of American technology. So, the superiority of the new technology in close combat turned out to be quite predictable, since domestic aircraft, in principle, are much more maneuverable than the old F-15s. What was much more surprising was the fact that Indian pilots won even in those cases when it came to fighting at a medium distance.
This was largely due to the fact that the Su-30 SM (photos are presented in this material) have more advanced systems that allow you to detect and track several targets at once. And therefore there is nothing surprising in the fact that immediately after those epoch-making exercises in the USA, supporters of immediate bringing to mind the new F-22 Raptor intensified.
Why was import so important?
If you carefully read our article, then you may well have an absolutely logical and logical question: why is the Su-30 SM, whose technical characteristics are so good, constantly considered in the aspect of foreign deliveries? The answer, oddly enough, is simple. At that time, when the aircraft building industry was far from in its best condition, the state nevertheless managed to load the same Irkutsk aircraft factory. This means not only providing jobs for thousands of people, but also perfectly licked production technology.
After all, the Su-30 SM aircraft, whose characteristics we examined, has been in serial production for more than 15 years! At the same time, the machine, due to its huge potential in the field of modernization, remains quite relevant today. Considering that these fighters in a more or less adequate amount began to enter the arsenal of the domestic air force, one can only rejoice for the pilots: they get at their disposal not a "crude" prototype, but a completely logical system brought to constructive perfection.
Finally, the entry into the army really indicates that the army is interested in training new pilots who will subsequently master the T-50 PAK FA. Given the extremely unstable geopolitical situation of recent years, this is indeed an important circumstance.
Sea as a native element
But the Su-30 SM fighter is good not only for its technical excellence, but also for its potential use. Unlike many cars of imported and domestic production, this aircraft can be effectively used not only from ground airfields, but also from aircraft carriers. Of course, it’s not a lot with aircraft-carrying cruisers in our country, but the opportunity to send these fighters to fight enemy aircraft with aircraft-based bases pleases ...
Today, the Su-30 cm is constantly being upgraded for the Russian Armed Forces, when some changes and improvements are constantly being made to the car. The potential laid down in this fighter is such that it will remain in our skies for a long time, without becoming obsolete over the years.