IAF's Sukhoi Su-30MKI

[Blood+]

am surprised that someone still takes russian military seriously after the beating they are taking in ukraine.

Your brain seems oxygen starved, bud. Perhaps you need to cut back on your intake of saturated fat.

 

[DumbPilot]

Regardless of politics, I think the Russian offensive counter air campaign is one for the books(on how not to wage one).

Let's see how the F-16s change things for Ukraine - does anyone know what type of missing they are getting? IIRC it was an AIM120B

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

Su-30MKI internal fuel weight on Wikipedia was 11 tons, now showing 9.64 tons.

 

[Satish Sharma Ji]

Su-30MKI internal fuel weight on Wikipedia was 11 tons, now showing 9.64 tons.

It is 9.64tons I have seen high profile officers boasting abt it.
Su35 has 11.5 tons

 

[saturatedfat]

Just a question
We currently dont have MAWS for our su 30 MKIs so how bad is it going to effect us during possible conflict with pakistan ?

 

[DumbPilot]

Just a question
We currently dont have MAWS for our su 30 MKIs so how bad is it going to effect us during possible conflict with pakistan ?

The primary role of MAWS is to detect infrared guided threats and then provide counter measures. If we're looking at IR guided threats, they fall into three categories:

- MANPADs(Igla/VSHORAD)
- Fox2 or IR guided air to air missiles(AIM-9, R73)
- IR guided SAMs(like some variants of SA-13 Gopher)

The only way that you will be evading IR based threats(even with MAWS, as its not a be all, end all countermeasure) is primarily by assumption that they might be present, and if luck allows, then through visual sighting of the motor smoke as the missile launches.

That means setting a hard deck for your flight, i.e if you're in the air to air role, don't go below xyz thousand feet where MANPADS/etc will reign, or you're in an air to ground role, if you are going below xyz thousand feet, then make sure to dispense flares in some pattern that allows you to escape, etc

 

[DumbPilot]

If it's a FOX-2 you're defending against, then it really depends on what the scenario is. If you're already entangled in ACM(air combat maneuvering) with the other bandits, then it's purely based on luck, because modern day close combat missiles don't miss

If you're transitioning from BVR to WVR, then you have to assume that the bandit has shot a Fox-2, and accordingly flow cold(i.e, away from the bandit) so that the missile doesn't catch up.

This is an over-simplification, but other factors like range/etc will matter too

 

[haldilal]

 

[haldilal]

 

[E-195]

japanese praise of Su-30MKI

 

[E-195]

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The backbone of India’s fighter jet fleet is the Russian-designed Sukhoi Su-30MKI, and the country recently ordered 240 engines to keep the fleet airborne for years to come.

Following approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security earlier this month, officials signed a deal with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to supply the so-called AL-31FP engines.

The contract, worth more than 260 billion rupees or US$3.1 billion, will see the first engine handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) after a year. All will be delivered within eight years, according to a Ministry of Defence statement, with production of 30 annually.


Made by HAL under Russian license, the engines currently feature local content of 54%. However, the company plans to boost the ratio to 63% by tapping India’s defense manufacturing ecosystem. “This would also increase the indigenous content of repair and overhaul tasks of the aero engines,” said the ministry.

It further stated, “These aero engines will be manufactured by the Koraput Division of HAL, and are expected to fulfill the needs of the Indian Air Force to sustain the operational capability of the Su-30 fleet for the defense preparedness of the country.”

Notably, India chose to stick with AL-31FP engines, even as Russia is upgrading its Su-30SM fighters with the newer and more powerful AL-41FS.

Incidentally, the IAF is buying twelve new Su-30MKIs from HAL for $1.3 billion to make up for losses. This purchase was approved in September 2023.

The air service has approximately 260 Su-30MKIs, six of which traveled to Exercise Pitch Black 2024 in Australia in July. The Indian detachment commander, Group Captain Ajay Rathi, praised the platform: “With its advanced avionics, thrust vectoring and superior payload capacity, the aircraft is capable of undertaking offensive and defensive missions, to execute strategic and tactical operations.”

He described its key capabilities as its long range, maneuverability, firepower and effectiveness in contested environments.

Last November, India’s Defence Acquisition Council signed off on a major upgrade program for 84 Su-30MKIs. HAL Chairman and Managing Director C.B. Ananthakrishnan subsequently told The Economic Times: “The upgrade will see significant private-sector participation, with HAL as the lead integrator.”

Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, the Air Force’s top officer, said the project would upgrade 51 aircraft systems, with 78% of the content being indigenous. HAL is responsible for 30 elements, while the private sector will upgrade eight systems.

Once implemented, the upgrade will include installation of the Virupaksha active electronically scanned array radar, a new electronic-warfare system, and a domestic infrared search and track system.

India orders hundreds of new engines for Su-30MKI fighters

The contract, worth more than 260 billion rupees or US$3.1 billion, will see the first engine handed over to the Indian Air Force after a year.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

Just a question
We currently dont have MAWS for our su 30 MKIs so how bad is it going to effect us during possible conflict with pakistan ?

If the enemy is using LOAL AAMs &/or guidance provided by other networked assets then it could be fatal for any Flanker with big RCS & IRS. The RWR & other EW sensors might indicate a lock from 1 angle but the missile might be approaching from other angle.
But in default scenario also if both side 4.5gen jets can see eachother then the side with higher NEZ AAM would win. MKI doesn't have Meteor AAM integration. Astr series AAMs have to pitch in & should have higher NEZ than AIM-120, PL series.
If a good quality optical MAWS can detect missile plume from 100+Kms or outside NEZ then the target jet can still escape.



For example, if F-35's DAS-MAWS is really so good then all current high-supersonic AAMs/SAMs irrespective of their range are useless against F-35 as it can stay out of radar's lock-on radius & missile's NEZ. That's where hypersonic AAMs/SAMs have to compensate.

 

[Anants]

View attachment 9438

nice

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

SPOILER:
This DC-MAWS pod is the worst product of DRDO for IAF so far perhaps. Look at MKM & F-15EX modifications & then this MAWS pod & once fitted below engine intake, the entire airframe becomes blind spot for upper hemisphere.
It looks like an older gen movie camera attachment.

 

[Bhartiya Sainik]

IDK why MKI upgrade didn't choose the 6-axis MAWS locations as Russian Su-35-S.




But an alternative is pylon based MAWS which also allows for weapon attachment.

 

[E-195]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yfe1L0V550

 

[haldilal]

 

[haldilal]

 

[E-195]

View attachment 11403View attachment 11404View attachment 11405View attachment 11406View attachment 11407View attachment 11408

I know the magazine it is quite popular in Japan

 

[E-195]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTRl_uikc9s

Su-30MKI in Japan




View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luiRRY2Fa0M