The Sukhoi Su-30MKK (NATO reporting name: Flanker-G) is a modification of the Su-30, incorporating advanced technology from the Su-27M variant. Su-30MKK was developed by Sukhoi Company (JSC) in 1997, as a result of a direct Request for Tender between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. It is a heavy class, all-weather, long-range strike fighter, comparable to the American F-15E Strike Eagle. Su-30MK2 is a further improvement to Su-30MKK with upgraded avionics and maritime strike capabilities. The MKK and MK2 are currently operated by the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Indonesian Air Force, Vietnam People's Air Force, Venezuelan Air Force and the Uganda People's Defence Force.
Fuel capacity
In addition to the newly added fuel tanks in the rudders capacity totaling 280 kg, there are four main fuel tanks. No. 1 tank with capacity totaling 3,150 kg is in the front, No. 2 tank with capacity totaling 4,150 kg is in the middle, No. 3 tank with capacity totaling 1,053 kg is in the rear, and No. 4 tank with capacity totaling 1,552 kg is located in the wings. During aerial refueling, the maximum capacity of Su-30MKK is receiving up to 2,300 liters per minute. The altitude of refueling is limited to 2 km to 6 km, and the speed is limited to 450–550 km/h. Aerial refueling probe is located in front of cockpit on the left, and the design is capable of night refueling.
Engine
The main power plants are two AL-31F engines that provide great maneuverability and thrust. Range can be extended with the in flight refueling probe. Domestic Chinese resources have claimed that the Chinese engine WS-10 with higher mean time between overhaul can also be used, but this is yet to be confirmed by the official sources and sources outside China. The average mean time between overhaul of AL-31F is only slightly above 500 hours, significantly lower than its western counterparts, the same problem reportedly encountered by Indian Air Force for its Su-30MKI fleet.
Avionics
According to Sukhoi Design Bureau, many of the new avionics and upgrades of current avionics were specially developed to meet the Chinese requirement, and subsequently used on other members of the Flanker family, including the more advanced versions that appeared later, and this was mainly due to the fact that the funding for Su-30MKK was readily available in comparison to others. The primary contractors / system integrator for Su-30MKK avionics was RPKB Instrumentation Design Bureau headquartered at Ramenskoye, and many new measures were adopted to meet the Chinese requirement, such as the open architecture software design. The development of avionics for the Su-30MKK was also assisted by 12 Ukrainian factories, based in Kiev.
Communications
The encrypted VHF/UHF communication radio of Su-30MKK has a maximum range in excess of 400 km, while the encrypted HF communication radio of Su-30MKK has a maximum range in excess of 1,500 km, and all can be used for both air-to-air or air-to-ground two-way communications. Su-30MKK is the first of Flanker family to be equipped with TKS-2 C3 system, which is capable of simultaneously commanding and controlling up to 15 aircraft with such system, and the air-to-air missiles launched by these aircraft.
According to the developer of the system, Russkaya Avionika JSC, the encrypted two-way communication C3 system can be either commanded or controlled by ground stations, or act as the command/control center for other aircraft. The system is claimed by the Russian developer as a huge leap forward in comparison to the similar rudimentary system on Su-27, which is only capable of one way communication. The new system is also the first among Russian system that is capable of forming a local area network like similar system on American Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
Flight control
The fly by wire (FBW) control with quadruple redundancy designed by Russkaya Avionika is the same system used for the Su-30MKI. Russian sources have confirmed the claims of domestic Chinese sources that an indigenous Chinese system developed is near its completion and it will be used to replace the original Russian system. However, this has yet to be confirmed by western sources and official Chinese governmental sources, which only acknowledged in the 6th Zhuhai Airshow that domestic fly-by-wire (FBW) control with quadruple redundancy is developed to accommodate domestic engines, but nothing was mentioned about whether the domestic system and engines would be used on future Su-30MKK upgrades.
Navigation
The integrated navigational systems designated as PNS-10, incorporating the A737 subsystem. The system is capable of utilizing both the GPS and GLONASS, but it is rumored that Chinese is developing a similar system to add the capability to utilize domestic Chinese systems
Flight instruments
The Su-30MKK features a glass cockpit of Russkaya Avionika JSC, with each pilot having two large multi-function displays, arranged in a rather unconventional way: one atop of the other. Two 178 × 127 mm (7 × 5 in) MFI-9 colour LCD MFDs are located in the front seat, a single MFI-9 and a 204 × 152 mm (8 × 6 in) MFI-10 color LCD MFDs are located in the rear seat. The head-up display (HUD) is also developed by Russkaya Avonika JSC, designated as SILS-30.
Helmet mounted sight
The original ASP-PVD-21 series helmet mounted sight (HMS) with only limited field of view (FoV) was replaced by more advanced Sura-K HMS system, but Chinese have been replacing the Russian HMS with more advanced domestic system. Publicized photos and video clips from the official Chinese governmental sources such as CCTV-7 in 2007 and PLA pictorial magazine have confirmed the western claims of Chinese is replacing the original Russian helmet mounted sights (HMS) with more capable domestic ones.
Mission computer
The new mission computer was jointly developed by the Russian National Aeronautical System Science Research Academy and Russkaya Avionika JSC, designated as MVK, capable of performing ten billion operations per second. All avionics on board is built to MIL-STD-1553 standard. There are four computers based on Baguet-55 series processor, one for central avionics control, two for information display, and one for fire control.
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