Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko this week visited the workshops of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, where not only the long-awaited MS-21 passenger airliners are assembled, but also military aircraft. In particular, the Su-30SM and Su-30SM2 fighters, which are being created not only for the needs of the Russian Air Force, but also for the Belarusian Air Force.
The meeting with the company's management discussed the expansion of production cooperation between aviation enterprises of the allied states and the possible development of joint passenger and transport technologies.
As a memento of the plant, Lukashenko was presented with a model of the Su-30SM2 fighter, in response, the Belarusian leader stated that it was his "favorite aircraft". And here's what is known about this fighter.
Su-30SM2
The Su-30SM2 fighters, which are in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces and Naval Aviation, are a modernized version of the Su-30SM fighters. The first batch of Su-30SM2s entered the Russian Ministry of Defense in 2021. And the deliveries of this model of operational-tactical aviation, according to PJSC UAC, have been taking place regularly since then.
It is known that the Su-30SM2 has:
- powerful AL-41F1S engines with thrust vectoring to improve maneuverability;
- an improved complex of onboard radio-electronic equipment;
- increased range of detection and recognition of air targets. The fighters are equipped with advanced onboard radar N035 "Irbis-E", which can detect targets with an effective reflecting surface of only 0.07 sq. m at a distance of 130-145 km;
- new high-precision means of destruction of air, ground and sea objects at a distance of several hundred kilometers;
- combat load of 8 tons. This includes, in particular, air-to-air missiles of several types with different characteristics, free-fall bombs and unguided missiles, as well as high-precision systems of various types.
A more detailed list of weapons compatible with this two-seat multirole fighter is not known.
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