Su-30SM2
Two-seat multirole fighter (4+ generation)
Upgrade of the Su-30SM that brings it closer to the Su-35S: the Su-35's AL-41F1S engine (≈ 4 t more thrust), a stronger radar (Bars-R derivative or Irbis-E, sources differ), the Su-57's OSNOD communications and datalink suite, and new weapons such as the Kh-59MK2 and KAB-250. The first four went to naval aviation in January 2022, a batch to the VKS in August 2024. Russia plans to convert ≈ 110 Su-30SMs by 2027.
Learn more in the AirDefense Academy →Dimensionsfor imagery analysis
- Length × wingspan × height
- 21.94 × 14.7 × 6.36 m
- Max. take-off weight
- ≈ 34,500–38,800 kg (sources differ)
- Recognition
- Canards, tandem two-seat cockpit, thrust vectoring
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia
General
- Role
- Air superiority, strike on ground and sea targets
- Manufacturer
- Irkut / UAC
- Crew
- 2
- In service
- Navy Jan 2022; VKS Aug 2024
- Numbers
- VKS ≈ 130 Su-30SM (2024); ≈ 110 to SM2 standard by 2027
Systems & weapons
- Engine
- 2 × AL-41F1S (Su-30SM: AL-31FP)
- Radar
- Bars-R-derived PESA or Irbis-E — sources differ
- Weapons
- R-77-1, R-73, Kh-59MK2, Kh-31, KAB-250/500, ≈ 8 t on 12 hardpoints
Threat
- RWR
- Yes — fire-control radar
- Countermeasure
- BVR tactics (notch/beam), ECM, mutual support
- Threat level
- High — Su-35 engine and weapons in a two-seater
News archive 9
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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Ukrainian intelligence: Russia can probably add 10–15 Su-34s a year, but builds no new Tu-95s, Tu-22M3s or Su-24s
In a reply published by the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN on 23 October, Ukraine's military intelligence agency HUR said Russian aircraft plants still produce modern fighter-bombers and fighters, enough to partly cover losses. Older bombers are different: Russia has no serial production of new Tu-95s, Tu-22M3s or Su-24s and keeps them flying through repairs a…
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«Украинские морские дроны вооружились ракетами. Смогут ли они заменить боевые корабли?» (Topwar: 'Ukrainian sea drones have armed themselves with missiles. Can they replace warships?')
A long analysis piece on Topwar asks whether Ukraine's uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), now armed with missiles and air interceptors, could replace warships. The author recounts the Magura V7 boats with two AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, engaged Russian Su-30s on 2 May 2025; citing Janes, the article says Russian sourc…
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Russian Su-30SM crashes on a training flight in Kaliningrad Oblast and both crew eject; pro-war Telegram channels report a second Russian fighter lost the same day, with its pilots probably killed
A Russian Su-30SM two-seat multirole fighter crashed on 21 October 2026 in the Chernyakhovsk district of Kaliningrad Oblast. Russian media placed the wreck in a field between the villages of Timofeyevka and Zelyony Bor. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the crash, as reported by RIA Novosti and TASS. It said the aircraft was on a scheduled training fli…
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UK Defence Intelligence Reports Likely First Direct Ukraine-russia USV Engagement (Defense Express)
Defense Express reports that UK Defence Intelligence has assessed the 12 September 2026 engagement in the Black Sea, in which a Ukrainian Sargan-3000 uncrewed surface vessel (USV) destroyed a Russian one-way attack USV with its mounted gun, as "almost certainly" the first direct engagement between Russian and Ukrainian USVs. According to the assessment as r…
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UAC delivers second 2026 batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers; number of aircraft not disclosed
Rostec announced on 7 October that its subsidiary United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has handed a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers (NATO: Fullback) to the Russian Ministry of Defence under the state defence order. According to Defence Blog, it is the second Su-34 batch delivered in 2026. Rostec says the aircraft completed the full cycle of ground and fligh…
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Russia's Dan-T munition blurs line between UAVs, cruise missiles — Rostec claims S-71M, S-71K and Dan-T jet drones form a new drone-missile class
Russian state corporation Rostec, in comments to the Defence Ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (30 September) and to TASS, claims that three of its newest jet-powered strike drones — the S-71M, S-71K and Dan-T — form a new category between attack drones and cruise missiles. Rostec's reasoning: a classic cruise missile is already a fixed-wing UAV, but not e…
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Russian Tu-95MS Bombers Carrying Kh-101 Missiles Flew Over Barents and Norwegian Seas
On 15 September 2026, multiple Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Tu-95MS 'Bear' strategic bombers flew a roughly five-hour patrol over the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea, north of Scandinavia. The bombers were escorted by Russian fighter jets (sources vary between Su-33 and Su-30SM). Norwegian F-35s, scrambled from Evenes Air Base under NATO Quick Reaction Aler…
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Ukraine's Defence Intelligence discloses 155 Ruselectronics enterprises supplying components for Russian weapons
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (HUR) has published data on 155 enterprises that are part of, or managed by, the Ruselectronics (Roselektronika) holding, a subsidiary of Russia's state corporation Rostec. The information was added to the "aggressor's military-industrial complex" section of HUR's War&Sanctions portal. The holding groups plants and research in…
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Fighterbomber claims first cannon kill of a Ukrainian FP-1 attack drone by a Su-30SM defending a cargo ship
On 25 August 2026 the Fighterbomber Telegram channel published gun-camera footage it billed as the "first documented case" of a winged FP-1 one-way attack drone being shot down with an aircraft cannon while it flew toward a dry-cargo ship (сухогруз). The post congratulates "the navy" for the kill. Russian pro-war outlets (Lenta.ru, Rambler) amplified the cl…