Deliveries of modernized Su-30SM2 fighters may start in 2023
"Currently, special flight tests (SLI) of the Su-30SM aircraft with the AL-41F-1S engine are underway (the same is the case for serial Su-35 - IF fighters). It is planned that they will be completed by December 2023," the source said. ...
According to him, the aircraft will have more than 150 test flights, now about 10% have been completed.
The source noted that at the moment, when upgrading the fighter to the level of the Su-30SM2, emphasis has been placed on equipping with additional aircraft weapons. The issue of installing AL-41F-1C engines on it and conducting tests starting from 2023 is being resolved.
"In the process of performing SLI on the Su-30SM (D) and Su-30SM2 aircraft, it is envisaged to issue a preliminary opinion, which will allow, according to the decision of the RF Ministry of Defense, to deliver Su-30SM2 aircraft with AL-41F-1S engines in 2023," he said. the interlocutor of the agency.
As Interfax reported, at the Army-2020 forum, the Ministry of Defense and the UAC signed a contract for the supply of modernized Su-30SM2 for the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Russian Navy. Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the department would order 21 new-built fighters.
According to the head of the UAC, Yuri Slyusar, the combat capabilities of the modernized aircraft will be significantly expanded, including through a new range of weapons. In addition, the Su-30SM2 will be completely import-substituted.
On August 12, 2020, Shoigu announced that specialists from the Irkutsk Aviation Plant installed the engines used in the Su-35S on the Su-30SM fighter, and flight tests will be carried out in the near future.
The development of a new modification of the Su-30SM fighter became known in July 2019. Then the source of "Interfax" in the aviation industry reported on the ongoing work under the code "Su-30SM (D)", which involves the installation on the Su-30SM of the most modern aircraft engines AL-41F-1C, which have increased thrust, resource and efficiency, thanks to which the fighter can stay in the air longer with the same amount of fuel.
The Su-30SM (modernized serial) is a 4+ generation multipurpose fighter developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and is serially produced at the Irkutsk aircraft plant of the Irkut corporation (both companies are part of the UAC). It is intended for gaining air supremacy, blocking enemy airfields at great depths, destroying air, ground and sea targets with precision air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons.
Su-30SM aircraft have been serially supplied to the troops since 2013. Today they have become the most numerous type of modern fighters in service - the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Russian Navy have already received more than 100 such machines.
The aircraft engine AL-41F-1C (product 117C) was developed by the Lyulka Design Bureau (part of the United Engine Corporation, UEC). It is a modular twin-shaft by-pass turbojet engine with thrust vector control and digital complex governor. Improved engine performance is achieved through the use of a new low pressure compressor with increased air consumption and efficiency, as well as a new turbine with a more efficient blade cooling system.
