Sukhoi Su-30MK Multirole Fighter Best Technology Armament System

The Su-30МК is a highly maneuverable multirole two-seat fighter manufactured by the Irkut Corporation. It is designed to gain air superiority, defeat ground and surface targets with guided and unguided air-launched weapons, and operate within an air group. The fighter's integrated configuration with canard surfaces and movable thrust vector incorporated into the control loop facilitates decreasing minimum flight speed and performing aerobatics at low (up to zero) air speeds with no limits to angle of attack.

Advanced avionics suite includes a fire control radar, an optronic targeting/navigation radar with high precision navigation aids, electronic countermeasures equipment of container-type, an IFF system, communications equipment, a recording and monitoring system allowing the fighter to perform efficiently missions assigned. The phased array antenna radar can track while scan up to 15 air targets in automatic mode. Acquisition range for a fighter-type target (with the radar cross section of 3 m2) is 120 km in free space and 100 km against the earth background.

There is an option of attacking radar-contrast ground targets while continuing air space scanning. The fire control radar can classify up to 10 types of air targets. The optronic locator can detect targets at a distance of up to 90 km and find range to them up to 3.5 km. A helmet-mounted sight, supplying target designation to missiles' IR seekers, greatly improves fighter's effectiveness in close air manoeuvring combat. The rear and front cockpits are equipped with multifunctional colour control consoles to manage the avionics systems and weapon systems of the aircraft. A digital ground map with associated operational/tactical information can also be displayed on the indicator.

Armament
The Sukhoi Su-30MK combat load is carried on 12 hardpoints and includes air-to-air and air-tosurface guided missiles, corrected bombs, unguided air bombs and rockets. The fighter can launch all modifications of the RVV-AE and R-27 medium-range air-to-air guided missiles and R-73E close-range agile missiles providing high target kill probability and possibility of simultaneous launches against four targets. Employment of the Kh-31P, Kh-31А, Kh-59МE, Kh-29Т (ТЕ) high-precision air-to-surface guided missiles with passive and active radar, TV and command guidance systems and КАB-1500Кr and КАB-500Кr (ОD) corrected bombs allows the fighter to defeat with high precision a wide range of ground and surface targets.

The Kh-29L missiles with semi-active laser seekers and KAB-1500LG corrected bombs can be employed by the fighter fitted with a thermalvision/laser targeting system. Unguided weapons include rockets of S-8, S- 13 and S-25 types and up to 500-kg air bombs. The aircraft is fitted with the 30 mm GSh-301built-in gun with highly effective ammunition of different types.