DEFENSE
The first Su-30SM prototype landing after its maiden flight
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in turn, was derived in the late 1990s from the heavily upgraded Su-30 twoseater under the Indian Air Force requirement. This 34-ton MTOW aircraft is powered by a pair of AL-31FP bypass turbojets, which accelerate it to Mach 2 in horizontal flight. The Su-30MKI carries a combat load of up to 8,000 kg on 12 hardpoints to engage airborne, ground and sea-surface targets. India has already ordered 230 of the type, both in form of direct purchases
rkut Corporation, a subsidiary of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, has started flight-testing the twinseat Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighter. The first aircraft completed its two-hour maiden flight on September 21; the second prototype joined the flight tests on September 25, the manufacturer reports. The Su-30SM, under development for the Russian Air Force, is based on Irkut’s best-selling export platform the Su-30MKI. The baseline platform,
Irkut Corp.
Su-30SM flight trials begin and through local license production at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. IAF is expected to sign up for a further 42 Su30MKIs by the end of this year. India is not the sole foreign customer for the type: 44 airframes in the Su30MKA version have been delivered to Algeria, while Malaysia has received 18 fighters in the Su-30MKM modification. To date Irkut has exported in excess of 190 Su-30 fighters in different variants. According to Irkut, the Su-30SM meets the specific requirements of the Russian Air Force, including a new radar, communications and IFF equipment and also new ejection seats. The aircraft can also carry new types of weapons. In March 2012 the Russian Defense Ministry placed an order for 30 Su-30SM fighters, with deliveries to continue through to 2015. The first two airframes are expected to be handed over at the end of this year.
Russia, India launch MTA preliminary design
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signed in order to complete the design and development phase. The 15- to 20-ton-class MTA design is being developed to meet the requirements of the Russian and Indian military, as well as for marketing to other countries. According to HAL, the MTA will be designed for cargo and troop transportation, as well as for operations involving paradropping and airdropping of supplies, including with The launch customers for future MTA aircraft will be the air forces of Russia and India
UAC
ussia and India have taken a significant step towards joint development of the long-awaited Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA). On October 12, the parties involved in this project — the Transport Aircraft subsidiary of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC-TA) and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) — signed the Preliminary Design Phase (PDP) contract with the Russo-Indian joint venture Multirole Transport Aircraft Ltd (MTAL), which acts as the program customer. The signing of the PDP Contract, which followed the signing of the general contract May 2012, paves way for an immediate start of preliminary design work on the MTA, to be carried out by a joint team of HAL and UACTA specialists in Moscow. This phase will take 10 months, after which a Detail Design Phase contract is to be
RUSSIA/CIS OBSERVER № 2 (35) NOVEMBER 2012
the use of a low-altitude parachute extraction system. The Russian Air Force is expected to order 100 aircraft of this type, while the IAF is to purchase 45. The designers estimate the total demand for the MTA to amount to 205 airframes. Manufacture of the MTA prototypes and subsequent series production are to take place at HAL Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur.