A delegation of the Azerbaijan Air Force visits Russia to get acquainted with several fighter types

Azerbaijan Air Force representatives have visited the manufacturing plants where Su-35 and MiG-35 are produced (KnAAPO and Lukhovitsy). During the visit Azerbaijani pilots had the opportunity to test a MiG-35.

Azerbaijan is looking to replace the 16 MiG-29s acquired in Ukraine (14 9.12 and 2 9.51 UB). According to the Russian press it is interested in acquiring Su-57. I guess chances of MiG-35 are rather small because archrival Armenia just bought Su-30SM, thus a more advanced type is probably sought.

Note that in the original article it does not mention IAPO, which produced Su-30SM. Some of the photos show the delegation at this factory.

References:

- https://mod.gov.az/en/news

Indian Air Force fighter squadron strength

It is no secret that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been struggling to maintain its envisaged number of fighter squadrons. In the next few years many MiG-21/27 squadrons will be deactivated and there is not an obvious replacement.

Originally the IAF planned a total of 39.5-42 fighter squadrons in order to cope with a 2 front war (Pakistan and China). The delays and lack of funding have led to an actual number which is much lower, around 32-33 squadrons. See table for more details.

There are a number of solutions to remedy this issue in the short term. The following aircraft could be acquired:

- Su-30MKI: This aircraft is a mature design and already produced under license. It would provide work to HAL.
- Rafale: Another package –maybe together with Navy- would help increasing the fighter strength.
- MiG-35: RSK MiG is in a position to produce many in a short term (36 per year). The type is already in service with the IAF.

Tejas is another option, but the design/fielding has been marred by delays. As a consequence MiG-21s had to be upgraded to make up for the delay. A Mk 2 version is now expected.

References:

- http://ajaishukla.blogspot.co.uk/
- http://www.sldinfo.com/
- http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/
- http://www.indiandefencereview.com/

Russian aircraft practice landings in a motorway section

A couple of Russian Su-30M2s and a Su-34 have practised landing maneouvers in a motorway section between  Rostov and Volvograd. In the link below it is possible to see a video of the exercises.

Video

You really have to wonder if it is worthy to practise this type of solution in a country like Russia. It's nuclear arsenal guarantees that it never have to resort to these measures. Also, the network of bases, huge range of the Flanker, and fleet of tankers should be enough to cover all territory.

References:

- http://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/4880422

Supply of new combat and training aircraft to Russian Armed Forces (2008-2017)

The analysis blog bmpd.livejournal has published a table with the yearly deliveries of new combat and training aircraft to the Russian Armed Forces from 2008 to 2017. The data do not include updated aircraft. Since 2013 the acquisition rythm has been very significant, and has surpassed 100 per year. To give an idea, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) plans to have ~700 combat aircraft.

In 2008 the only supplied aircraft was a single Su-34. On this year Russia was still recovering from the 1990s economical crisis, and up to this period, priority was given to modernisations and research. The peak in 2009 is caused by the 28 SMTs acquired and later rejected by Algeria.

Table 1: Supply of new combat and training aircraft (2008-2017).

The acquisition of Su-27SM3 and Su-30M2 was widely discussed because of the origin of these birds. The Su-27s could have been manufactured from components originally produced for China. In 1995 this country signed an agreement to produce under license 200 Su-27SKs, but it was cancelled in 2004. The upgrade to the SM3 variant is logical because the original version was obsolete.

The possible origin of the Su-30M3 is similar. The production is actually quite spread during several years. In 2016 the last ones were delivered. Nowadays they operate in 3 regiments (22, 23 and 38 IAP) belonging to different variants.

The other types are well know. It is likely that the deliveries have been adjusted to make room for export contracts and to take into account the economical crisis. In 2016 Russia exported 33 combat aircraft:

- 6 MiG-29K to India.
- 8 Su-30MKA to Algeria.
- 2 Su-30SM to Kazakhstan
- 4 Su-30MK2 to Vietnam.
- 4 Su-35 to China.
- 4 Yak-130 to Belarus
- 3 Yak-130 to Myanmar.
- 2 Yak-130 to Bangladesh.

In 2017 deliveries were reduced to 49. MiG-29SMT has been completed, and Yak-130s deliveries have slow down. Yakovlev have been working on an improved version, and several have been exported.

Deliveries of Il-76MD-90A have slowed down. A while ago the factory producing the type had to renegotiate the contract as it was losing money. Other deliveries were 1 Tu-204, 2 An-148-100 and 3 DA42T trainers. There will be no more deliveries of An-140-100 because the company producing them in Russia (privately owned Aviakor) has gone bankrupt.

In the next few years Flanker and Fulcrum will continue. Russia's State Armaments Program 2020 should include +20 MiG-35, and the contract should be signed this year. It will be interesting to see upgraded Su-34M for follow on contract.

The exports for 2017 were also 33:

- 15 MiG-29M/M2 to Egypt
- 6 Su-30MKA to Algeria
- 2 Su-30SM to Kazakhstan
- 10 Su-35 to China
- 3 Yak-130 to Myanmar

References:

- http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2358587.html
- http://www.easternorbat.com/html/russian_air_force_eng.html

- Summary of aircraft and helicopter contracts for Russian Armed Forces
- https://bmpd.livejournal.com/3036294.html 

Forty years since the first flight of Su-27

On 20th May 1977 the first T-10 prototype flew for the first time. The rest of the story is well known, as the Flanker became one of the most famous Soviet aircraft in the world.

T-10 at Monino (http://su-27flanker.com/)

This first prototype (see photo above) was quite different to the serial machines. Now it is known that the development was difficult and protacted, as the prototype suffered from stability issues. Sukhoi had to redesign the fuselage, and the first production version was based on the T-10-7.

All the effort was worth it. The Flanker was one of the great successes of the Russian Defence Industry in the 1990s, and was exported in large numbers. This ensured the survival of the company during the economical crisis. Nowadays it is still in production, and it will last a few more years.

References:

- https://www.aex.ru/news/2017/5/19/169791/

- http://su-27flanker.com/versions/t-10-flanker-a/#

Russian Su-27s to be upgraded to Su-35 level?

A few days ago the Russian defence viceminister, Yuri Borisov, stated that 4 Su-27 would be upgraded to "Su-35 standard". This caused a few debates on the internet because it does not make much sense. A Su-35 has too many different features for the upgrade to be worthy. For example, the Su-27 would not be able to receive the Su-35 engines.

Su-27S (Jeroen Oude Wolbers at www.ausairpower.net, 2010).

In the last few years Russia has applied an upgrade to the Su-27s in service. It is designated SM and is based on the MK2 variant sold to China.

References:

- http://alert5.com/russia-to-upgrade-four-su-27s-to-su-35s/
- http://forum.keypublishing.com/

Contracts between United Arab Emirates and Russia

United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed an agreement with Rosoboronexport for the supply of 5000 AT missiles. So far there are no details on the type, but it could be Kornet-E. The contract is worth 708 million $ and includes support and training.

An agreement on the development of a light 5° generation fighter aircraft has been signed. Sukhoi and MiG would provide designs for the type, which will be single engined. RSK MiG has been privately developing a 5° generation fighter aircraft, but the latest concepts were 2 engined.

Su-35 in Syria (Sputnik).

Finally, negotiations are ongoing about a Sukhoi Su-35 sale. I would find this very surprising because UAE is supposed to be very close to acquire Dassault Rafale. The Mirage 2000-9 operated by the Air Force could be part of this deal.

References:

- http://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/general/uae-russia-sign-dh26b-anti-armour-missile-deal-1
- https://lenta.ru/news/2017/02/20/arabian_fighter/

Su-34 with SAP 14 jamming pod

Last January the Russian Aerospace Force (VKS) performed a series of exercises to check readiness of its units. The Su-34s based at Voronezh took part. In this video the setup for the missions at Buturlinovsky base can be seen.

Jamming pod.

 

This specific aircraft is carrying a SAP 14 jamming pod, similar to the ALQ-99 used by the EA-18G Growler. It was shown for the first time ar MAKS 2009, but is had not been seen in an operational unit before.

References:

- http://forum.keypublishing.com/RuAF-News-and-development-Thread-part-15/page88

- http://forum.keypublishing.com/Russian-radars-and-ECM-ESM-RWR-systems-thread

Su-33 accident in Syria (3-12-2016)

8-12-2016

Data on the Su-33 accidente have been published. The aircraft was Red 67, and had been modernised in 2012-2013. The weather conditions that day were good, 12 kms visibility and less than 12 knots wind speed. The possibility of excessive speed during landing has been discarded.

The investigation found that the Flanker deviated on one of the landing axis by more than 0.5 meters (4.7 when the maximum is 4.2). After 50 meters the arresting cable snapped (1). 

3-12-2016

Yesterday a Su-33 naval fighter crashed while performing a landing on the Kuznetsov carrier. The Su-33 did land but the arresting wire snapped and failed to stop the aircraft, which fell of the deck. The pilot managed to bail out. This is the second accident of the naval fighters deployed in the Russian carrier. Both losses were caused by problems with the arresting wires.

Su-33 landing on the Kuznetsov (http://su-27flanker.com/).

A comission is being organised to investigate the cause of the accident. It could be due to a faulty wire or a landing at inadequate conditions (speed/angle). It seems that aircraft operations have been suspended because Israeli naval authorities were informed that the exclusion zone in the area of operation from 7:00AM to 7:00PM has been suspended.

References:

- http://kommersant.ru/doc/3162180
- http://portierramaryaire.com/foro/ (info by Shomer)
- http://kommersant.ru/doc/3164261 (1)

Su-27 incident at an Ukranian base

There are not many details about what happened, but this Su-27 almost caused a tragedy. At 0:49 it starts turning towards the parking area -note guy hitting the ground at 0:55-. Maybe the Flanker got too close to the other aircraft during the take-off, causing instability in the engines.

References:

- http://diana-mihailova.livejournal.com/110087.html

New data link for Su-35 and Su-27SM3

At the end of 2017 Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-27SM3 will receive a new data link known as Postscriptum. It will allow these 2 fighters to receive information from AWACS aircrafts and ground based/early warning radars. It also offers the possibility of landing without pilot input.

Also, the aircraft will supply the central command with fuel and weapons data, together with position. The aircraft will be able to fire missiles using the AWACS/radar data. 

S-108 data link (slaviza.ru)

It will be interesting to know more about the integration of this new data link. Su-35 has a S-107-1 link, which allow tactical data to be shared between different ground, sea and air platforms. China has acquired an export variant named S-108 with the Su-35.

Back in the 1980s the Soviet Union developed TKS-1 and TKS-2 data links. The latter allowed data to be shared by 16 aircraft, and was integrated in MiG-31s and Su-27s.

References:

- http://izvestia.ru/news/643567#ixzz4QBfiZKkO

- http://www.slaviza.ru/

Missile load on Su-30SM

This photo is quite impressive, as it shows a Russian Su-30SM with 4 R-73, 2 R-77 and 2 Kh-31. A few years ago this setup could not have been possible because Russia could not afford advanced weaponry. Note red colours on R-77 missile, which led to some comments. In Russia inert missiles are painted white with 3 black rings. The red colour was used on early R-77 series. There is a well known photo from the 90s of a MiG-29M with them.

Fuentes y enlaces de interés:

- www.russianplanes.net 

- Photo byVadim Savistsky.

Jordan, possible interested in Su-34

Russian newspaper Kommersant has informed that Jordan could be interested in acquiring an unspecified amount of Su-32, the export version of the Su-34. According to this source, the interest is a consequence of the operations in Syria.

Su-34 en Siria (vía BBC).

 

The author is rather catious about the information, as Jordan operates large amounts of US equipment and the contracts with Russia have been rather modest.

References:

- http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2961098

 

New weapons and EW pod for Russian Su-35

A Russian news journal show a video of a Su-35 based at Dzemgi, near Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where this fighter is produced. It was very interesting because weapons shown included air to air missiles Izd 170-1 and a EW kit L-265 "Khibiny-M"

The VKS is slowly getting AMRAAM type missiles. A few weeks ago they were seen in Syria. Due to the 1990s crisis  acquisitions were stopped, and it was only recently that they were bought in large numbers.

References:

- http://djoker-lj.livejournal.com/216237.html