The
heavily upgraded Su-30SM plane may open a new niche for Russia in India,
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said
The Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jet will
be standardized with the generation 4++ Su-35 fighter by its onboard equipment
and armament to cut its cost price and breathe a new life into the plane,
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told journalists on Tuesday.
"After completing the work on
the Su-30SM upgrade, changing the layout of the onboard radio-electronic
equipment to make the Su-35 and the Su-30SM more standardized and thus cut the
cost price, and standardizing the airborne weapon systems, this may breathe a
new life into the plane," the vice-premier said.
The heavily upgraded Su-30SM plane
may open a new niche for Russia in India, he noted.
"Considering that there are
about 200 such planes in India [the Su-30MKI as the baseline version of the
Su-30SM], an opportunity will probably open for modernizing this fleet to
prolong its service life," the vice-premier explained.
Under Russia’s diversification
program and amid the declining volume of the defense procurement plan, domestic
defense enterprises should shift their focus towards life cycle maintenance and
upgrade, Borisov noted.
‘It is necessary to move towards
diversification and towards gaining foothold on the civil market. This is what
we will have to do under the national project and as part of investment
programs of our fuel and energy companies," the vice-premier said.
TASS reported in September 2018 that
during their upgrade the Su-30SM fighters would also get AL-41F-1S engines
mounted on the Su-35 planes. It was also reported in January 2019 that the
trials of the modernized Su-30SM multirole fighter jets were expected to be
completed before the end of 2019.
Su-30SM upgrade
The Su-30SM is being upgraded by the
Irkut Aircraft Corporation and the Sukhoi Design Bureau on the assignment of
Russia’s Defense Ministry with the involvement of leading Russian defense
enterprises. The upgrade will boost the fighter’s combat capabilities: it will
increase the range of detecting and identifying air targets and furnish the
plane with new precision weapons to hit air, ground and sea targets at a range
of several hundred kilometers.
The Su-30SM is a multirole
supermaneuverable heavy fighter equipped with a phased array radar and canard
panels. The fighters of this type are furnished with the AL-31FP engine derived
from the AL-31F baseline motor of the Su-27 plane. It is distinguished by its thrust
vectoring and the increased service life.
The Su-35 is a Russian-made
multipurpose generation 4++ super-maneuverable fighter jet equipped with a
phased array radar and steerable thrusters. The fighter is equipped with the
AL-41F-1S engine, which allows it developing supersonic speed without an
afterburner thrust. The experimental AL-41F-1 turbojet engine performs the
function of the first-stage powerplant for the Su-57 (PAK FA) fifth-generation
fighter.
TASS
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