Mass media reports on Uzbekistan’s plans to purchase Su-30SM fighter jets from Russia

Uzbekistan informed Russia about plans to purchase Su-30SM multi-role fighters and ammunition for them, RIA Novosti reports with reference to an information source.

“The Uzbek side informed Russia of its interest in acquiring, through the allocation of a state export credit by Russia, super-maneuverable multi-purpose fighters Su-30SM, ground support equipment, control and test equipment, spare parts, tools and accessories, aviation means of destruction, and flight training and engineering -technical composition,” a representative of the agency said.

According to him, in the near future Uzbekistan will send an application for the purchase of aircraft.

According to RIA Novosti, the Federal Service for military-technical cooperation confirmed the information that “the Uzbek side expresses interest in acquiring Su-30SM fighter jets”.

The Su-30SM fighter was developed by the “Sukhoy” experimental design bureau and is mass-produced at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. Su-30SM is the latest modification of the Russian multi-role heavy fighter Su-30 of generation 4+, has super-maneuverability. It is equipped with a radar with the phased antenna array, engines with controlled thrust vector and front horizontal tail. The aircraft is able to use high-precision armament class “air-to-air” and “air-to-surface”.

Uzbekistan also sent a request to the Russian Federation to modernize the fleet of MiG-29 fighters. According to the open data, as of 2016, 12 MiG-29 jets of various modifications were in service in Uzbekistan, and another 18 aircraft were in storage.