Su-30 (Su-27P)
Sukhoi proposed the Su-30 to the Russian Air Force as a dual-seat "command post fighter" that would designate targets for accompanying aircraft, a clear add-on or replacement for the MiG-31 Foxhound fleet that was having serious maintainability problems. The Su-30 (Su-27P) is a dual-seat full-system Su-27 interceptor with refueling probe, provisions for external fuel tanks, beefed up structure, improved ECM, and a slightly modified comm/oxygen interface block with the RD-36 ejection seat. The laser-optical locator system is advertised to include a day and night FLIR capability and is used in conjunction with the Helmet mounted sighting system. The onboard countermeasures suite includes an illumination warning system, an active jamming station, and passive dispensers for chaff and flares.
Su-30 is capable of performing all tactical tasks of the Su-24 "Fencer" deep interdiction tactical bomber and the Su-27 "Flanker A/B/C" air superiority fighter while having around twice the combat range and 2.5 times the combat effectiveness (Sukhoi numbers). The Su-30 compares favorably with Su-27UB in respect to the distribution of functions between the crewmen. The main difference is that the workstations in the Su-30 were more similar to each other which clearly distinguishes this fighter from conventional two-seat trainers. Now the rear-seat pilot/operator is able to quickly input the coordinates of the new navigation points into the navigation system and airborne weapons system that is used to intercept targets in a long-range rocket engagement.
The story of the heavy multi-role fighter of the 4++ generation, intended exclusively for the Russian Aerospace Forces, must begin in the 1980s, when the command of the country's air defense forces came to the conclusion that it was necessary to have a special combat vehicle that could be used not only as a long-range interceptor fighter, but also as an airborne command post for managing the combat operations of a group of Su-27s.
The need for such a machine was dictated by the geographical location and size of the USSR, the large length of its air borders, numerous poorly developed areas along almost the entire perimeter of the land border with a rather sparse network of airfields. In addition, the pilots of the air defense units who mastered the Su-27 spoke very well of the two-seat combat training version of this aircraft, since it retained all the combat capabilities of a single-seat machine, and the presence of a second crew member on board during long flights during combat duty in the air had great psychological advantages.
In addition, the onboard radar and electronic systems that were modern at that time had such broad capabilities that it was practically impossible for one pilot to fully realize them in a maneuverable air battle, and the need to maneuver, control various weapons, instantly respond and make decisions in a complex, fast-moving tactical situation created too high a load on the pilot and did not allow him to fully utilize both his professional capabilities and the capabilities of the fighter.
Thus, there was a need for a second crew member, in whose cabin the aircraft controls would be duplicated. Then the first pilot could conduct close combat, control the aircraft and the weapons system, and the second - solve long-range combat tasks, observe the air situation, perform the functions of an air command post - manage group combat operations. The presence of a second crew member should also contribute to improving the combat capabilities of the machine and reduce the negative psychological factors affecting the crew during a long flight.
Work on creating a two-seat combat aircraft with these capabilities began at the Sukhoi Design Bureau in the mid-1980s. I. V. Yemelyanov, now the Chief Designer of the Design Bureau, was appointed the project manager. The development of the two-seat Su-30 interceptor fighter began at the Sukhoi Design Bureau in the late 1980s. The Su-27UB combat training aircraft was chosen as the base machine for modernization. It had a two-seat cockpit, a significant fuel system capacity, and ten points for hanging weapons. To further increase the flight range of the future fighter, the designers decided to equip it with an in-flight refueling system. Externally, the new aircraft differed little from the basic Su-27UB, it had practically the same technical characteristics, excellent reliability and good controllability. The new machine received the designation Su-30, in 1991 its serial production began in Irkutsk.
However, the collapse of the Soviet Union followed, which became a disaster for all enterprises of the military-industrial complex. Due to the almost complete halt in the purchase of new equipment by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the management of the Sukhoi Design Bureau began searching for foreign customers for its products. In the shortest possible time, the Su-30MK was created - a multi-purpose two-seater aircraft, the first flight of which took place in 1993. The range of weapons of the machine was significantly expanded, its takeoff weight increased from 30 to 38.8 tons, the combat load doubled, the service life of the power plant and airframe increased significantly.
The Su-30 two-seat long-range intercept fighter first flew in December 1989, and that entered service with the Russian air forces in 1992. Based on the results of flight tests of the modernized aircraft, a government decision was made to launch their serial production at IAPO under the designation Su-30. In 1991, serial production of two-seater Su-30 aircraft began in Irkutsk. The lead aircraft was lifted on its first flight by test pilots G.E. Bulanov and V.B. Maksimenkov on April 14, 1992. The Su-30 was reported as early as January 1993 as being "in service" with the Russian Air Force and in series production at the Irkutsk Factory. The tandem seat Su-30 was first seen at Farnborough in 1996. The Su-30 is made in Irkutsk. In the early 1990's, the Su-30 supposedly found itself in competition with the Su-27IB side-by-side configured Flanker prototype, but there may have been a bit of misinformation in these claims.
The general director of the Irkutsk aircraft plant, Alexander Veprev, said that in the 1990s the situation at the enterprise was very difficult: the workload was falling, the state order was practically minimal, and it was mainly limited to the supply of components to support operation. There were only one-time orders under export contracts, and as a result - the plant was operating at a reduced capacity, with a shortened schedule.
The so-called Su-30 series of aircraft began with the Su-27M - in effect a concept demonstrator renamed the Su-35 - the Flanker has evolved into the Su-30 multirole fighter, the Su-32/34 tactical bomber, and the Su-33 naval variant. The leading visual difference between the Su-30K and the Su-30MK were canards just below & slightly behind the rear cockpit, TVC nozzles and a twin wheel nose landing gear. The Russian domestic PVO variant is related to the multi-role or "MKI" export variants being sold around the world.
In the conditions of economic collapse and the virtual absence of aircraft purchases by the Russian Defense Ministry, the Sukhoi Design Bureau turned its attention to the possibility of export deliveries of the Su-30. For these purposes, a modernized commercial version of the Su-30MK was developed - a two-seat attack aircraft intended for deliveries to foreign customers. The first flight was performed in 1993. The fighter's range of weapons was expanded, the maximum takeoff weight was increased from 30 to 38.8 tons, the combat load increased from 4 to 8 tons, the airframe service life was increased from 2,000 to 3,000 hours, the engine - from 900 to 1,500 hours.
The first representative of the Su-30 family was the Su-30MKI fighter. This aircraft, built to order for India, brought more money to the country's budget in the difficult 1990s than all other export weapons combined. The general director of the Irkutsk aircraft plant, Alexander Veprev, said that in the 1990s the situation at the enterprise was very difficult: the workload was falling, the state order was practically minimal, and it was mainly limited to the supply of components to support operation. There were only one-time orders under export contracts, and as a result - the plant was operating at a reduced capacity, with a shortened schedule.
In the late 1990s, the nascent Su-30 family was divided into two branches. The first Su-30 and Su-30 MKI were produced at the Irkutsk Aircraft Industrial Association (IAPO). However, the country's second largest aircraft plant, the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO), also produced Sukhois - at that time mostly for China. When China requested a strike modification of the Su-27 , it was decided to develop it on the basis of the Su-30K and launch it into production at KnAAPO. Work on the Su-30 MKK (K stands for "Chinese") began in 1998. The Irkutsk aircraft were purchased by Algeria (44 Su-30 MKI (A)) and Malaysia (18 Su-30 MKM). The Komsomol aircraft were purchased by Venezuela (24 Su-30 MK2V), Vietnam (60 Su-30 MK2V), Indonesia (2 Su-30 MK and 9 Su-30 MK2), and Uganda (6 Su-30 MK2). Thus, the total volume of foreign orders for Su-30 family aircraft exceeds five hundred aircraft,
The plane was completely ready, tested in production and free of childhood diseases (and paid for by foreigners). The more advanced "Irkutsk" version under the index Su-30 SM ("Serial modernized") was chosen as the main multirole fighter. The production of Su-30 SM for the Russian Air Force has been underway since 2012, the first machines were purchased for the reviving naval aviation. The "Komsomolsk" version also found its place in the domestic Air Force - the aircraft under the index Su-30 M2 wass purchased to replace the Su-27UB twins that have exhausted their service life.
On the 8 September 2006 at 15.42 pm Moscow time, a Su-30 fighter jet piloted by the crew of the Hero of Russia, a distinguished test pilot of the USSR Anatoliy Kvochur, landed on the airfield Ramenskoe (Zhukovskiy). The plane took off from Ramenskoe at night - 2.35 am, reached the isle of Chkalov in the Far East and made it back. The flight was performed in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the legendary flight by Valery Chkalov of 1936 within the framework of the project "Still higher, and higher, and higher" by the Exposition holding MVK.
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