The Su-35 (Su-27SM2) fighter, which the Sukhoy OKB is developing, will be in demand not only by the Russian air force, but also by foreign customers, the general director of the Sukhoy Aviation Holding Company, Mikhail Pogosyan, has declared.
“We thing that the new airplane should be produced for the Russian air force in the Su-27SM2 “technical aspect.” Work in this direction is underway actively, inasmuch as the aircraft will be in demand both in Russia and abroad,” M. Pogosyan told Interfax-AVN.
According to him, “the need for replacement in the future of the existing fleet of Su-27 type fighters will require marketing in the period approximately of 2009 – 2010 along with the upgrade and overhauls and the order of new airplanes for the Russian air force.”
M. Pogosyan noted that in the draft of the Russia’s state arms program to 2015, all emphasis will be arranged neatly on the developments and purchases of aviation equipment, based on the volumes of financing.
“The Su-27SM2 is the next stage with a transition to new sensors and phased antenna array of the aircraft radar (RLS),” the Sukhoy AkhK general director emphasized.
In the opinions of specialists, the Su-27SM2 fighter, which is intended for Russia’s air force (the export variant is the Su-35) is a heavy upgrade of the Su-27/27SM fighters. The installation on the fighter of new aircraft engines with a thrust up to 14 tonnes (instead of 12.5 tonnes) and new aircraft equipment, including the “Irbis” aircraft radar, will be a distinguishing feature of the Su-27SM2. The fighter also is supposed to receive new long-range missiles of a different class.
It is planned that the Su-27SM2 will be a step in the creation of the future tactical aviation aircraft complex, inasmuch as on it many proposals for the fifth generation combat airplane will be perfected, Interfax notes.
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