Russia’s special fighter Su-30M2 has officially entered the war in Ukraine after a long time of “silence”.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that a squadron of Russian Su-30M2 special fighters that took off from the Crimean peninsula participated in airstrikes on targets near the Kherson area, marking perhaps the first mission of the aircraft. this fighter.
The Su-30M2 is a localized variant based on the Su-30MK2 for export, the strength of the Su-30M2 according to many military experts is slightly better than the Su-27SM3 air superior fighter.
The aircraft is equipped with N001VE-Pero passive phased array radar that can control missiles to simultaneously attack 6 air targets or 4 ground targets, the fighter detection range is 190 km compared to only 150 km of the N001VEP equip Su-30MK2.
Su-30M2’s engine is AL-31FM1 with 135 kN thrust (compared to 123 kN of AL-31F on Su-30MK2), Su-30M2’s avionics system is also highly efficient and reliable. than Su-30MK2.
Currently, in the Russian Air Force, the main role of the Su-30M2 besides the operational duty is to train pilots to fly the Su-27SM3 and Su-35S thanks to its two-seat cockpit structure.
It is also worth noting that Russia recently conducted a test upgrade program for the Su-30M2 so that it has the same combat capability as the Su-30SM2 or Su-35S.
The first is the equipping of the Su-30M2 with the passive phased array radar N035 Irbis (the type mounted on the Su-35S) instead of the N001VE-Pero, the new weapon has proven to be highly compatible when both Su-30M2 and Su -35S are all products of the KnAAPO complex.
Next, the Su-30M2 also proved that it can easily receive the Su-35S’s 3-D thrust vector control engine AL-41F1S, the tests have shown very positive results.
With a configuration that can mount both the N035 Irbis radar and the AL-41F1S engine, the power of the Su-30M2 is no longer inferior to the Su-35S at any point, it has even been called by the unofficial name of Su-35UBM.
Of the Russian Flanker fighters, the Su-30M2 is the most underrated when placed next to the Su-30SM or Su-35S, but before the Ukrainian Air Force is only equipped with Su-27P/UBM1 or MiG-29MU1, the Su -30M2 still proved superior.
However, while the Su-30SM or Su-35S were used for both fighter and attack roles, the Su-30M2 was only assigned to the reserve fighter role, even though it was always present in the formation operations on the Crimean peninsula.
This raises many questions about the real tactical and technical features of the aforementioned multi-role fighter, perhaps the fact that Russia gave the Su-30M2 to perform the last combat mission just for the main purpose of erasing the part of the fighter jet any doubt about them.
The effectiveness of the attack that the Su-30M2 fighter squadron has just performed has not been clearly announced, most likely it has not caused enough damage to the Ukrainian armed forces, even harmless.
The Russian Air Force also seems to be reluctant to keep the Su-30M2, this is almost a temporary solution while waiting for the Su-30SM to be produced in large enough quantities, because the same 2-seat configuration, The latter fighter proved to be superior in all respects.
