Fencer
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The crew ejected and were rescued by civilian sailors.Apparently crew ejected safely.
The crew ejected and were rescued by civilian sailors.Apparently crew ejected safely.
Could someone explain why the Russian naval aviation prefers/uses the Su-30SM rather than utilizing the Su-35S like the VKS does?
Probably because the Su-30SM is a better multirole fighter (two pilots), in VMF land based tactical units it will replace all Su-24s, so it will do both air defence of VMF bases as well as the strike missions the Su-24 was doing in support of naval operations.Could someone explain why the Russian naval aviation prefers/uses the Su-30SM rather than utilizing the Su-35S like the VKS does?
But given that the Su-35S is overall more modern and also capable of launching A2G (and thus probably with a bit of tweaking A2S) munitions I think that the Su-35S could probably do most of the stuff the Su-30SM does. I suppose the WSO is the biggest upside? Given that it means less load on the pilot who has to process lots of info. And as the SM2 is supposedly an SM but brought up to the Su-35 standard, it seems like they want that second crewmember per plane really badly. Because I doubt the Su-30SM2 will be much cheaper if at all cheaper than the Su-35S of which like 130 have already been produced I think.I am guessing because the SM (which is similar to the MKI) is a more multi-role aircraft and has more capability to do various strike/maritime strike roles. VKS use of the Su-35S may be more strictly focused on air superiority.
Being half as cheap probably helps ;pCould someone explain why the Russian naval aviation prefers/uses the Su-30SM rather than utilizing the Su-35S like the VKS does?
Those ecm pods are big!
But given that the Su-35S is overall more modern and also capable of launching A2G (and thus probably with a bit of tweaking A2S) munitions I think that the Su-35S could probably do most of the stuff the Su-30SM does. I suppose the WSO is the biggest upside? Given that it means less load on the pilot who has to process lots of info. And as the SM2 is supposedly an SM but brought up to the Su-35 standard, it seems like they want that second crewmember per plane really badly. Because I doubt the Su-30SM2 will be much cheaper if at all cheaper than the Su-35S of which like 130 have already been produced I think.
Fair question, but lets put it in this way
the Su-30SM is basically a "Russianized" version of the Su-30MKI. When you combine all of them (the SM, MKI, MKM, MKA, etc). That's about 600 ish? combined. India is likely to continue using the MKI for a long time, producing spare parts for it and continuing to integrate it with various weapons.
In the 2000s, Russia basically piggybacked off the Russian designed equipment for India (the 30MKI, Mig-29K, etc), because they are a large and stable operator. This series also has more done to make it capable for strike.
While the Su-35 can do strike, the MKI/SM can do it better. Although there are intentions to make the 35 more multi-role, there's less motivation by its operators do commit to that path. The Russian Air Force has the Su-34s, and China has the J-16 among many other options.
If you had to look at another analogy, you can compare the Rafale and Typhoon. The Typhoon is strike capable, but a2g integration has been much slower. Its primary operators aren't strongly pushing it as they have the F-35 and Tornado to do those roles.
The Typhoon is strike capable, but a2g integration has been much slower.