Advance F-16 is clearly multi-mission aircraft when they put AIM-120 on wing tips, 600 gallon tanks , CFT, dorsal spine and radar with interlacing of modes in air and ground. Su-34 takes this two steps further.

there is no such flexibility in J-10 for now.

J-10 is at the same stage of development as F-16/Su-27/F-15 in early 80s.

Multirole does not mean Swing role (Multi-mission). Mission flexibility is the key for target of opportunity in air and ground simultaneously.
J-10 can either do Air to air or Air to Surface but not both efficiently. there are only 3 wing stations and outer 2 looks only for lighter loads and it is in need of fuel tanks for lighter A2A role let alone heavier A2G. It means u have to maintain larger airforce because of limited capability of aircraft.
It is not substitute of Su-30MK2 which have alot of combination of load outs like 4 A2G + 4BVR +2 WVR + 2 ECM pods and can be refuelled from longer ranges with safety.

185 Km is not out of reality.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=57724&highlight=S-400
Vladimir Mikhaylov also noted that the S-400 “Triumf” anti-aircraft missile complex will be the starting point for transition to air and space defense. “We plan to transition from the S-400 to and air and space defense when the anti-aircraft missiles complexes operate not only against aerial but also against space targets,” the CinC declared. – “There are such products ((NARABOTKI)). One more missile is being made for it and in general we have good prospects here.” According to the CinC, as early as this year the first regiment equipped with the S-400 “Triumf” will be adopted into the inventory. It will be deployed to the city of Fryazevo near Moscow.

they said there four kind of missile for base line.
and if u read the Rian link that i posted 120 km and 400Km one are inducted by end of 2006.
here is more about testing the range.

Moscow, 27 January: The upcoming S-400 Triumf air defence missile system will possibly be tested on the proving ground in Kazakhstan, deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian air force in charge of the CIS’s unified air defence system, Lt-Gen Aytech Bizhev, told journalists today.

“The possible transfer of the testing of the S-400 to Kazakhstan is linked to the fact that the Russian proving grounds at Ashuluk and Kapustin Yar have limited possibilities in respect of the distance of firing,” Bizhev noted. At the same time the Balkhash proving ground in Kazakhstan makes it possible to fully check the combat potential of the new air defence missile system
ITAR-TASS 27 Jan 05

there is some thing follow on coming up.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060811/52520633.html
But the commander said development would not stop with the introduction of the new missiles because more effective missiles were being designed

using aircraft radar is more impressive.

Moscow, 27 July: A regiment consisting of two battalions of S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems will enter the inventory of the Russian air force in 2005, Col-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn, acting air force commander-in-chief, said on Wednesday [27 July].

“In accordance with the state defence order, a regiment of S-400 systems will be commissioned this year. It will be deployed in Moscow Region,” Nogovitsyn told Interfax-AVN.

“The first regiment is experimental and consists of two battalions,” he noted.

“The S-400 system is capable of efficiently destroying all existing and future short and medium range ballistic missiles that will threaten the territory of the Russian Federation,” Nogovitsyn said. The system “works perfectly against both ballistic and aerodynamic targets,” he stressed.

The S-400 system developed by the Almaz-Antey air defence consortium is an absolutely new system that has a modular design, which developers never practised before, the acting commander-in-chief went on. Its baseline variety has four types of missiles, and the upgrade potential is enormous. In particular, the launcher of the new system is fit to fire old missiles which are in the inventory of S-300 system. “All subsequent missile modules will have the same size and weight,” he stressed. [Passage omitted]

The system can destroy targets in the near space at altitudes of up to 185 km and at distances of up to 400-450 km. It is capable of engaging ground and sea surface targets, too.

“This is an absolutely new system that is protected from jamming, has advanced accuracy and is capable of using target indication data from aircraft,” Nogovitsyn noted.

At the same time, S-400 can serve as a target indication means for fighters and assault aircraft. [Passage omitted]

“State tests of the system are in progress and a S-400 with the full set of missiles is expected to have been commissioned by 2008,” Nogovitsyn concluded
Interfax-AVN military news agency web site, 27 Jul 05

You won’t find empty weight on Boeing, NorthropGrumman or US Navy sites. The figures in the .pdf you mention on Boeing site are the take-off or landing weights. Here are some mentions about the empty weight (30,500 lbs.) http://home.att.net/~jbaugher4/f18_24.html http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-18.htm

MTOW is enough to calculate the relevant maximum external and internal loads. so no need of second guessing.
MTOW- Maximum external stores= Maximum internal weight. and land based F-18E comes around 15.5 tons.
F-16 can theoretically carry 10 tons external but with full internal fuel it reduces to 7 tons at MTOW. that is similar

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/wms/findPage.do?dsp=fec&ci=15053&rsbci=11171&fti=0&ti=0&sc=400
The current Block 50 F-16 can carry up to 22,000 pounds of weapons, electronic countermeasures, sensor pods, and external fuel tanks on 11 store stations. With full internal fuel, it carries more than 15,500 pounds of external stores at its maximum takeoff gross weight.

With CFTs, internal fuel is about 10’400 kg and payload about 11’300 kg i.e. more than enough 😉 Max. external fuel in 3 tanks is about 5450 kg.

Super Hornet is only slightly lighter than the F-15E. But what cuts the range really is the huge (transonic) drag of the basic Super Hornet airframe, underwing stores drag compared to the Strike Eagles CFT aligned stores and the monster airbrake pylons.

RCS is no contest because the F-15 is absolutely lost here. But with stores, I doubt if the SH enjoys a real tactical advantage.
The intake baffles are also responsible for the loss of a few thousand lb of thrust afaik.

F-15E has over 20 ton empty weight with 36 ton MTOW. it is 5 ton heavier than F-18E and is likely to consume alot fuel just because of weight and frontal area. and non afterburning thrust of F414 is alot closer to the larger engine. and thats what matters.
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/f15/docs/F-15E_overview.pdf

Su-34 with AESA.

Second stage trials started for Su-34 attack aircraft

MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax-AVN) – The Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company and the Russian Air Force have commenced the second stage of official trials of the new attack aircraft, the Su-34.

“During the second stage, the aircraft will be tested with new weapons, expected to be mounted on it in order to improve its combat capabilities,” a source in the Russian defense industry told Interfax-AVN on Friday.

According to him, the second stage is likely to take three years.

He added that the first stage of the official trials successfully ended in October, which allowed starting mass production of the aircraft at the Novosibirsk aircraft production association, and supplying the aircraft for service with the maneuver units. The first two Su-34s were handed over to the Russian Air Force earlier this month.

By 2010, the Novosibirsk association is going to release 18 such aircraft for the Russian Air Force, under the three-year governmental contract. Later on from eight to ten such aircraft are expected to be assembled at the plant annually.

The main feature of the Su-34 is its high payload and wide list range of guided air-launched weapons it has, which coupled with the air-refueling capability and provisions for external fuel tanks is responsible for the aircraft supreme performance, including as far as survivability in combat is concerned.

The Su-34 is equipped with powerful avionics with multiplexer-type data exchange capability provided by the multi-role active phased array. The aircraft also features systems responsible for effective countermeasures. The new warplane can effectively destroy land and sea-based targets, including pinpoint ones, using the wide range of its air-launched weapons in any weather day and night.

I think there is aesa in EW suite. after Frist regiment. no export untill 2010 alteast.

The Su-34 multirole strike aircraft, series production of which began at the Novosibirsk Aviation Production Association (NAPO) in 2006, has “limitless” potential for further upgrades, according to chief designer Rollan Martirosov. Martirosov was speaking to journalists in Novosibirsk on 15 December

The chief designer noted that the electronics of the aiming and navigation complex had been completely replaced on the No 6 experimental aircraft in 1999, while in 2004 high-quality LCD displays, newly produced to the required standard by Russian manufacturers, were installed on the No 8 experimental model, replacing display tubes

In a third report, the agency quoted Pogosyan as saying that after the first Russian air force formation equipped with Su-34s is set up, “we shall be setting our sights on the export market”. He said existing Sukhoi customers in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa were all showing interest in the Su-34.

Pogosayan talked up the Su-34’s on-board computer system, its electronic countermeasures, which make it “practically invulnerable to enemy weapons”, and its titanium armour.

He said the Russian air force had a requirement for 200 Su-34s, while 300-400were planned to be built in total, with series production spanning approximately 15-20 years.
Source: Interfax-AVN military news agency website 15 Dec 06