Has Russia Developed a New Su-30MKK Aircraft for China?

Russia’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant (KnAAPO) has reportedly developed a new version of the made-for-China Su-30MKK aircraft.

According to a press release today by the holding company of Russian aviation enerprises, Rostec, “the enterprise  (KnAAPO) has mastered the production of a new Su-30MKK aircraft, and a long-term program is being implemented to reconstruct production facilities and technically re-equip the aircraft plant.”

Information about the “new Su-30MKK aircraft” was contained in a Rostec release to announce the title of “Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation,” awarded to the Director of KnAAPO, Alexander Pekarsh, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation. Pekarsh has been heading the aviation plant since 2006.

Under his leadership, the enterprise completed the the second state contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for the construction of 50 Su-35S fighters. In 2020, ten aircraft of the final batch were handed over to the customer, including four fighters for the Russian Knights aerobatic team. In addition, the enterprise has mastered the production of a new Su-30MKK aircraft. However, the release did not specifying the timeline when this was done.

Both the Su-30MKK and Su-30MK2 were developed and delivered to China between the year 2000-2005. The mention of a new Su-30MKK in the current context gives rise to speculation of a latest version of the aircraft.

According to official information from Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) which is the conglomerate of the country’s aircraft building enterprises,  the two-seat Su-30MKK was developed on order of the Chinese Air Force with the first lot of aircraft delivered in the year 2000. A total of 75 aircraft have been handed over.

Subsequently, an improved version, the Su-30MK2 aircraft was developed, which was created at the Sukhoi Design Bureau in 2002 by order of the Chinese Navy. The fighter has enhanced capabilities in relation to the Su-30MKK. The range of guided weapons designed to destroy surface targets has been expanded. In particular, the Su-30MK2 armament may include the X-31A supersonic anti-ship missile. The display system has been upgraded. An additionally installed signal processor with a new linear receiver allows the use of new ammunition with precise guidance and expands its capabilities in terms of hitting naval targets.

The Chinese Navy has deployed the Su-30MK2 as part of its intimidation tactics against Taiwan.

Western and Chinese media reports have said that with the arrival of the Chinese J-20 stealth fighter, the importance of the Su-30MKK/Su-30MK2 has diminished.

However this does not seem so as the Su-30 aircraft are regularly used in overflights of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). According to a Twitter post by the Taiwan defense ministry, “(three) 3 PLA aircrafts (SU-30, J-11, and Y-8 ASW) entered #Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ on May 4, 2022.”