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Sukhoi Su-30
The Sukhoi Su-30 is a military aircraft that was produced by the Russian company
Sukhoi in 1996. It is a dual-role fighter and costs 38 million dollars. The K
variant costs 33 million dollars while the MKI variant, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, built
for Indian Air Force costs 45 million dollars. It is a derivative of the Sukhoi
Su-27. More than 140 of these planes will be constructed by Hindustan Aeronautics
for the Indian Air Force.
The Su-30 is an excellent multi-role fighter, the Russian equivalent to the
American F-15E Strike Eagle. It can carry an array of TV, IR, and radar guided
missiles, as well as anti radiation missiles for SEAD missions, and of course
unguided bombs and rockets. The maximum speed of any variant of the plane is
mach 2.3. Like all other Flankers it has a large fuel capacity giving it a
very long range and high combat endurance.
The design incorporates a straked delta wing, with strake and body blending,
first seen in the American F-16 Falcon. This allows the airplane to fly at
extreme angles of attack without stalling -- illustrated in the so called
"cobra maneuver". Another characteristic of this airplane are thrust-vectoring
engines. This allows the nozzles of the engines to be rotated allowing for fine
control during low speed flight. The Su-37 takes this concept one level further
with full three dimensional thrust-vectoring.
Two other Russian aircraft intended to serve as a tactical bombers and attack
fighters are the Su-34, nicknamed the Platypus, and the Su-24 Fencer. Both are
high supersonic aircraft, the Su-34 being yet another model of the Flanker
series. The Fencer shares its basic design with the American F-111 fighter-bomber
in that it is a variable-geometry, supersonic, tandem seat, tactical bomber.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sukhoi Su-30".
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