Sukhoi Su-30

what is it?

The Sukhoi Su-30 (Russian: Сухой Су-30; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air interdiction missions. The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) were reported to have 130 Su-30SMs in operation as of 2024.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 14.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 2,120 km/htop speed
• range 3,000 kmwithout refuelling
• size 34.5 tmax take-off weight
• built 630made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 37 years ago, in 1989.
• 🏎️Top speed is 16.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.7 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 14.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 6 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 3,000 km: 17× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 2.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1989-12-31

introduced

1992

status

still flying

number built

630

role

multirole fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Sukhoi, Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Yakovlev Corporation

engines

2× Saturn AL-31FL/FP / Saturn AL-31

crew

2

length

21.9 m

wingspan

14.7 m

height

6.4 m

max take-off weight

34.5 t

top speed

2,120 km/h

range

3,000 km

ceiling

17,300 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family