The Sukhoi Su-30 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions.

The Su-30 started out as an internal development project in the Sukhoi Su-27 family by Sukhoi. The design plan was revamped and the name was made official by the Russian Defense Ministry in 1996. Of the Flanker family, the Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, Su-34 and Su-35 have been ordered into limited or serial production by the Russian Defense Ministry. The Su-30 has two distinct version branches, manufactured by competing organisations: KnAAPO and the Irkut Corporation, both of which come under the Sukhoi group's umbrella.

KnAAPO manufactures the Su-30MKK and the Su-30MK2, which were designed for and sold to China, and later Indonesia, Uganda, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Due to KnAAPO's involvement from the early stages of developing the Su-35, these are basically a two-seat version of the mid-1990s Su-35. The Chinese chose an older but lighter radar so the canards could be omitted in return for increased payload. It is a fighter with both air supremacy and attack capabilities, generally similar to the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle.

Irkut traditionally served the Soviet Air Defense and, in the early years of Flanker development, was given the responsibility of manufacturing the Su-27UB, the two-seat trainer version. When India showed interests in the Su-30, Irkut offered the multirole Su-30MKI, which originated as the Su-27UB modified with avionics appropriate for fighters. Along with its ground-attack capabilities, the series adds features for the air-superiority role, such as canards, thrust-vectoring, and a long-range phased-array radar. Its derivatives include the Su-30MKM, MKA, and SM for Malaysia, Algeria, and Russia respectively. The Russian Air Force operates several Su-30s and has ordered the Su-30SM variant as well.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM "Flanker-H" fighter known as "Blue 45" that was attached to the 11th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, then deployed to Russia during 2020. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-inches
Length: 12-3/4-inches

Release Date: June 2023

Historical Account: "Oorah" - The 11th Red Banner Air and Air Defence Forces Army is a formation of the Russian Air Force, located in the Russian Far East, whose zone of responsibility covers the Eastern Military District. The 11th Army Air Force and Air Defense Army was reformed within the Eastern Military District on 14 August 2015.

The designation "11" for an aviation formation of this size in the Far East was introduced during the Second World War. In August 1942, the Air Forces of the 2nd Red Banner Army were re-designated the 11th Air Army. But this formation only last less than two and a half years, because in December 1944 the formation was reduced to the 18th Aviation Corps, which in June 1945 joined the 10th Air Army.

In April 1960, the designation "11" was taken up again by re-designation of the independent Far Eastern Air Defence Army. For decades thus the aviation forces in the area consisted of the 1st Air Army of the Air Forces, reformed on 1 July 1957 by merger of two existing armies when the higher command arrangements in the Far East were re-organized, and the 11th Air Defence Army of the Soviet Air Defence Forces. In 1998, six years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the two were merged into the 11th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, covering the Far Eastern Military District. Russian Naval Aviation also handed over a regiment of Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptor aircraft on the Kamchatka Peninsula which was included in the new force.

The 11th Army of VVS and PVO was disbanded in 2009, by being redesignated the 3rd Air and Air Defence Forces Command. The army was reformed once again in 2015 from the command.