The first pair of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighters purchased by Armenia at an aerodrome in Southern Caucasus, Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was introduced to Su-30 SM multifunctional fighter jets that have recently been procured by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. The Prime Minister watched the fighters’ demonstration flights with Defense Minister David Tonoyan and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Artak Davtyan. The Head of Government was briefed on the technical capabilities of the newly purchased aircraft.
In January 2016, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan mentioned that Russia had discussed the possibility of supplying Su-30 fighters to Armenia during a four-day Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission on bilateral military-technical cooperation. The Armenian authorities has ordered four Su-30SM multirole fighters in February 2019, with deliveries expected to begin in 2020. The country plans to acquire additional Su-30SM aircraft, according to the Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan.
The Sukhoi Su-30SM (NATO reporting name Flanker-H) is a generation 4++ serial-produced and upgraded two-seat super-maneuverable fighter jet. A specialised version of the thrust-vectoring Su-30MKI for the Russian Air Force, produced by the Irkut Corporation. .The Su-30SM is furnished with two AL-31FP thrust-vectoring reheated double-flow turbofan engines. The fighter has an operating range of 1,500 km and a flight endurance of 3.5 hours without refueling.
The aircraft can be used to gain air supremacy same as for targeting adversary on the ground using wide range of weapons including air-to-air, air-to-surface and guided and unguided bombs with total weapons weight up to 8000 kg. It is also equipped with the one barrel, 30 mm GSh-30-1 autocannon. To ensure operations at major distances from airfield, the ability of in-flight refueling (IFR) is included. Besides that, for electronic warfare purposes two SAP-518 jamming pods can be fitted on the wing tips.
