Here’s a stunning video (including cockpit footage) of the awesome Sukhoi Su-30SM

You don’t happen to see the Su-30SM that close too often.

The Su-30SM is a special variant of the thrust-vectoring Su-30MKI and MKM produced by the Irkut Corporation for the Russian Air Force (that should operate 60 jets of this type by 2016).

It’s a 4+ Generation twin-engine, two seat supermanuverable multi-role aircraft equipped with improved avionics, the Bars-R radar and a wide-angle HUD (Head Up Display).

And, no matter how it is effective in a WVR (Within Visual Range) or BVR (Beyond Visual Range) scenario, it’s quite cool.

H/T Lasse Holmstrom for the heads-up

 

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.