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Su-30MKK Multirole Fighter Aircraft
The Sukhoi Su-30MKK (NATO codename: Flanker) is the two-seat, twin-engine multirole fighter aircraft developed from the Su-27 fighter. The aircraft was developed by Russian Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by KnAAPO in Komsomolsk-na-Amur. The PLA Air Force (PLAAF) acquired two batches totalling 76 Su-30MKKs between 2000 and 2003. The third batch, which consisted of 24 examples of the upgraded Su-30MKK2 variant, was delivered to the PLA Naval Air Force (PLANAF) in August 2004. The Su-30MKK series is the most capable combat aircraft in service with the PLA.
Su-30MKK
Although the Su-27 air-superiority fighter had good range and performance, it did not completely meet the requirements by the Soviet PVO, which was responsible for defending the vast air space of the Soviet Union. Hence, Sukhoi Design Bureau developed a two-seater interceptor variant based on the Su-27UB fighter-trainer. The new fighter, designated Su-27PU, was introduced in 1989 as a long-range interceptor and airborne command post. The aircraft features a two-man crew, revised avionics, and a refuelling probe for extended range. Only five examples of the Su-27PU were delivered to PVO under the designation Su-30 for training purpose before the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991.
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PLAAF Su-30MKK fighter (Chinese Internet) |
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Later in the early 1990s Sukhoi proposed a further improved Su-30M multirole variant but received no order from the Russian Air Force. Sukhoi turned to the export market to prompt the aircraft under the designation Su-30MK (Modernizirovannyi Kommercheskiy = “Modernized Commercial”). The aircraft was first demonstrated at the Paris Air Show in 1993. A much more optimised Su-30MK demonstrator, rebuilt from the first production Su-27PU, was displayed in 1994. The aircraft received its first order from the Indian Air Force in November 1996, with 8 Su-30K two-seat fighters and 32 Su-30MKI multirole two-seat fighters.
Negotiations between the PRC and Russia over the purchase of the Su-30MK multirole fighter began in 1996. Sukhoi Design Bureau started work to produce a Su-30-based two-seat attack aircraft designated Su-30MKK (Modernizirovannyi Kommercheskiy Kitayski = “Modernised Commercial for China”) for the PLA Air Force in 1997, with A.I. Knyshev appointed as the chief designer of the project. Under the agreement, Komsomolsk-on-Amur production plant (KnAAPO) was chosen as the primary contractor to build the aircraft. The contract of purchasing 38 Su-30MKK aircraft valued at about US$2 billion was officially signed in August 1999.
Sukhoi Design Bureau produced a detailed design in 1997~98, and the prototype planes were made in KnAAPO in 1998~99. The new version of the two-seater was based to a great extent on the design solutions adopted for the Su-27SK and the single-seat fighter Su-27M. As a result, the Su-30MKK incorporated, for all intents and purposes without any redesign, the Su-27M's centre wing section, wing panels, air intakes, tail beams, fins and landing gear and the Su-27SK's tail-end fuselage assemblies. This approach has greatly reduced the design time, without any new components required for building the aircraft except for the nose.
The first Su-30MKK prototype was built in the spring of 1999. The maiden flight of the prototype Su-30MKK-1 '501 Blue' (built from the Su-30 prototype ‘05’) took place on 20 May 1999 by test pilots I.Ye. Solovyov (Sukhoi Design Bureau) and A.V. Pulenko (KnAAPO). The first four pre-production planes were handed over to the Sukhoi Design Bureau for testing, which was conducted jointly with SPFC of the Russian Air Forces in 1999~2001. The Su-30MKK prototype '502 Blue' was first demonstrated to the Chinese public during the 2000 Zhuhai Air Show.
The first 10 production variant Su-30MKKs were delivered to the PLAAF on 20 December 2000, followed by a second batch of 10 examples on 21 August 2001, and a third batch of 18 examples in December 2001. These aircraft were shared between the PLAAF 3rd Air Division / 9th Fighter Regiment based at Wuhu AFB, Anhui Province and the PLAAF Flight Test & Training Base at Cangzhou AFB, Hebei Province, each with 19 examples.
In July 2001, during the then President Jiang Zemin's visit to Moscow, the PRC signed a contract with the KnAAPO to supply an additional 38 Su-30 MKK fighters. These aircraft were delivered to the PLAAF 18th Air Division (19 examples) based at Datuopu AFB, Changsha, Hunan Province and 29th Air Division (19 examples) based at Quzhou AFB, Zhejiang Province in 2003.
Su-30MKK2
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PLA Naval Aviation Su-30MKK2 fighter (Chinese Internet) |
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Development of the latest Su-30MK2 began around early 2002. Compared to the MKK version in service with the PLAAF, the Su-30MK2 features an improved precision-attack capability and an entirely new C4ISTAR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) role not previously hinted at. The aircraft’s new N001VEP fire-control radar is specifically modified to launch the Kh-31 (NATO codename: Kh-17A Krypton-A) long-range supersonic anti-ship missile.
In January 2003, the PRC signed the contract with the Russian state-owned trading company Rosoboronexport for the purchase of the third batch of 24 (other reports suggested 28~30) Su-30MKK2 fighters. Specially tailored to meet the requirements of the PLA Naval Aviation, the aircraft features enhanced anti-ship strike capability. The first batch of 12 examples were delivered in February~March 2004, followed by the second batch of 12 examples in August 2004. These aircraft are deployed by the PLA Naval Aviation 4th Division / 10th Fighter Regiment based at Feidong AB, Zhejiang Province.
Design
The Su-30MKK is PLA’s first ‘true’ multirole fighter with both ‘beyond-visual-range’ air-to-air and precision strike capabilities. The aircraft can deliver a range of precision-guided munitions such as the Kh-29 and Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles, Kh-31P anti-radiation missile, and the TV-guided bombs. For air-to-air combat, the aircraft is equipped with Russia’s latest Vympel R-77 (NATO codename: AA-12 Adder) active radar-homing medium-range air-to-air missile (MRAAM). Additionally, the aircraft is also fitted with sophisticated electronic countermeasures (ECM) and C4ISR suites for target acquisitions and weapon guidance.
The Su-30MKK inherited the superior aerodynamic performance from its ancestor Su-27, outperforming most of Western designed fighter aircraft in close-in air combat. The aircraft is powered by two AL-31F turbofan engines designed by the Lyulka Engine Design Bureau (NPO Saturn), each rated at 17,857lb st (79.43kN) dry and 27,557lb st (122.58kN) with afterburning. According to Russian sources, the PLAAF has requested the Su-30MKK with structure reinforced to enable the maximum take-off weight to be increased to 34.5t, comparing to 30.5t for the original version Su-30 and 33.5t for the Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force. The PLAAF has reportedly asked for a limited number of the planes to have the capability of further increasing take-off weight to 38.8t. The plane will then be capable of transporting 8t of weapons and supplementary fuel tanks in operations. If also combined with AWACS aircraft, the Su-30MKK approaches the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle in terms of performance and capability.
The Su-30MKK has an impressive combat radius of 1,600km without refuelling. The Su-30MKK and MKK2 equipped by the PLA are all fitted with a retractable aerial refuelling probe, enabling them to be refuelled by the Russian IL-78 tanker. The aircraft’s combat radius is extended to 2,600km with one refuelling, or 3,500km with another. With multiple in-flight refuelling, the Su-30MKK taking-off from inland airbases in China conceivably could conduct air strikes as far away as Guam, Australia, or the Indian Ocean, or be able to loiter for significant periods over contested areas of the South China Sea.
Last update: 20 February 2009 |
