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 that was on display at the MAKS-2009 Airshow, in Zhukovsky, Russia, during August 2009. Sold Out!

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

Release Date: March 2023

Historical Account: "For the Motherland" - From 1994-1996, an initial batch of five original Su-30 (Su-27PU) fighters, contracted for the Russian Defence Ministry, were delivered to 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment based at Savasleyka air base. After the regiment was disbanded in 2002, the aircraft became part of 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel in Lipetsk where they were flown mostly by Russian Falcons aerobatic team. No further orders of the variant were made. However, the Russian Defence Ministry was impressed with the export Su-30MKI's performance envelope and ordered a total of 60 Su-30SM fighters, under two contracts signed in March and December 2012, respectively.

On September 21st, 2012, the Su-30SM performed its maiden flight while the Russian Air Force received its first two serial aircraft on November 22nd, 2012. By the end of 2015, the 31st Fighter Aviation Regiment, the last aviation regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces that operated Soviet-made MiG-29A/UBs, was fully rearmed with about twenty new Su-30SM fighters. All aircraft of the first two contracts were delivered by 2016.