That’d be stretching the definition of “rather current” quite a bit. While it certainly may be competitive to the World’s average, if one wants to compare it with that – it’s far from being competitive with what World’s premier air forces are procuring right now.
So su-30m2 is being procured as we speak for Ruaf. Lets see what is being procured for other strong air forces:
US: F-35, Superhornet.
UK, France: Typhoon, Rafale
China: j10b, j11b
Israel: currently preparing to get f-35, last orders were of F-16I
India: su-30mki, Tejas
India is closest i guess, but even there su30mki should be quite visibly more capable. Only Tejas might be seen as less capable…
Issues i have with su-30m2:
Its airframe is based on su-30 dating from end of Cold war.
Its engines are, performance wise, not much better than initial al-31f. Yes, they have longer life and perhaps better selfdiagnostics but all in all they’re still old Al-31s.
Its weight to thrust ratio is behind the most planes listed above at something like 28 tons / 247 kn of thrust (with 4,5 tons of fuel and 3 tons of ordenance/pylons)
Its range is poor compared to most planes listed above at 3000 km of ferry range. Translating probably into something like 1000ish km hi-hi mission with a few tons of ordenance.
Its radar still has an antenna of very old design, superseded in the West back in the 1980s. The back end of the radar is probably much newer but still – antenna must be holding it back quite a bit.
It has no visible missile approach warning system, as opposed to most other planes on the list.
Of course, in case i’m misinformed on some of these points, please do point it out. And yes, some systems can be replaced with newer variants. But that’s beside the point. Currently they’re what they are. Just as f-22 had older weapons for years, just typhoon lacked/lacks proper air to ground capabilities etc. In theory lots can be modernized. In practice, that’s a process that often takes 10-15 years.
Anyhow, I understand the political need for su-30m2 within ruaf, and as long as their numbers stay at what has been ordered so far it’ll be fine, as ruaf needs some trainers as well. The above lists are written on plane v plane merit, without the broader context. I actually have a bigger beef against su-30sm, which, while more modern than su30m2, still shares a lot of the same issues and, what is worse, does seem to be procured in far larger numbers.
I think you have your Sukhoi variants mixed up. Its okay. there’s too many out there anyways.
But Su-30M2 is a low risk option. Already developed with Indian and Malaysian money. modern and up to date, ready to replace legacy Su-27 and 30 airframes.
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