Russian Navy Su-30SM Fighter Jets Practice Aerial Refueling for the 1st Time


Pilots of Russian Navy Sukhoi Su-30SM (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) fighter jets have practiced aerial refueling for the first time, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported. The exercise involved pilots of Su-30SM multirole fighter jets and Su-24M (Fencer) frontline bombers, the newspaper reported.


Su 30SM fighters Russian Navy aerial refuelingPilots of Russian Navy Sukhoi Su-30SM (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) fighter jets have practiced aerial refueling for the first time


The pilots performed more than 100 engagements with Ilyushin Il-78 (Midas) aerial tankers.

The Su-30SM (SM standing for serial-produced, modernized) multipurpose fighter jet is designed both to gain air supremacy and attack ground-based and surface targets. The fighter jet has canards and swiveling-nozzle engines for thrust vector control, which makes it supermaneuverable.

The Su-30SM fighter jet is equipped with the Bars multipurpose fire control radar. The fighter jet’s armament suite comprises a wide range of munitions, including air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface precision-guided weapons.

The Su-30SM plane can be used to train pilots to operate perspective single-seat fighter jets. The production of the Su-30SM fighter jet for the Russian Air Force began in 2012.


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