Russian Air force to receive 46 Su-30SM2 fighter jets and Yak-130 training aircraft by the end of the year.

According to information released by the Russian Press agency TASS, the Russian Defense Ministry will sign two contracts for the delivery of 46 Su-30SM2 fighter jets and Yak-130 training aircraft by the end of the year.

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Russian Air Force Yak-130 training aircraft. (Picture source Vitaly Kuzmin)

“We have decided and will sign additional two contracts worth over 100 billion rubles for the construction of 21 Su-30SM2 and 25 Yak-130 this year,” it quoted Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu as saying at a meeting with defense industry representatives in Irkutsk region. Another contract worth 7.2 bln rubles will be signed in 2021 for the overhaul of Su-30 aircraft.

The Russian minister noted that Irkutsk Aircraft Plant is upgrading production and expanding the capacity. He called on the aircraft industry to decrease the cost of a flight hour and operate by life-cycle contracts. Shoigu said the military will strictly control the implementation of the contracts and punish the violators up to contract cancellation.

The Su-30SM is upgraded by Irkut Corporation and the Sukhoi Company together with leading defense enterprises. The upgrade increases the detection and identification range. New precision longer-range weapons are provided to destroy air, ground and sea targets.

Ground checks have been completed in January 2019 in the framework of R&D for the Su-30SM upgrade. The first upgraded jet was prepared for trials.

It was reported in 2018 that UEC-UMPO participated in the R&D to upgrade Su-30SM with AL-41 °F-1S engines. The work was done jointly by Irkut, Sukhoi, and UEC-UMPO to unify engines for the supplied Su-35S.

Su-30SM will get multichannel communications and data exchange, navigation, and identification system of the fifth-generation Su-57 jet. Open sources said a more powerful AL-41 °F-1S engine of Su-30SM2 will provide for the installation of Irbis N035 radar with a phased antenna array.

“The upgrade will provide the second life to the aircraft and make Su-35 and Su-30SM mode unified in equipment and weapons and decrease costs,” Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said in February 2019. The upgraded Su-30SM can open a new niche for Russia in India. ‘As India operates close to 200 jets (Su-30MKI), there is a possibility to upgrade the fleet and extend the life cycle,’ he said.

Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheev said at DefExpo 2020 show that Russia and India had agreed on the technical concept of upgraded Su-30MKI fighter jet.