New fighter jets for Northern Fleet

The aircrafts are the first of a series of new jets for the Northern Fleet. The two Su-30SM made it from the manufacturer’s plant in Irkutsk to the Kola Peninsula on 30th of December, the Russian Armed Forces inform.

The new planes will become part of the Northern Fleet’s air wing.

«This is a machine with unique characteristics, it combines the capacities of bomber, attack plane and fighter aircraft, and is capable of destroying targets on land, at sea and in the air», a press release from the military reads.

Compared with its predecessors, the Su-30SM has a far bigger flight range, which significantly expands its area of application.

According to newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the Russian Ministry of Defence in 2012 ordered a total of 116 new aircrafts of the kind, of which 28 were destined for the Navy aviation. 

The Black Sea Fleet has already received 12 of the planes, while one machine in December arrived in the Baltic Fleet.

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The two-man aircraft has a weight of 25 tons and can carry ten tons of armament.