Kazakhstan to receive 4 new Su-30SM fighters by the end of 2022

Kazakhstan’s Air Defense Forces (KADF) will receive a new batch of four Sukhoi Su-30SM «Flanker-H» two-seat multirole fighters by the end of 2022.

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TASS reports that Russia will deliver four Su-30SM multirole fighters to Kazakhstan, Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev told a briefing on Wednesday.

«Work is continuing to execute a contract on delivery of another batch of four such fighters to our Kazakh partners by the end of 2022. So far, 20 advanced Su-30SM fighters have been delivered to the Republic of Kazakhstan,» the head of Russian military cooperation said.

Su-30SM multirole fighters are arriving to the Kazakh Air Force under an agreement with Russia and as part of the republic’s armed forces rearmament program.
This batch of aircraft corresponds to the continuation of an order for 8 aircraft placed in 2018. The KADF will thus complete the numbers of its second squadron, totaling 24 units of this model.

The Su-30SM is a two-seat, super-maneuverable, all-weather, generation 4++ two-seat fighter derived from the successful Indian Su-30MKI and Malaysian Su-30MKM, which began delivery to Russian forces in 2013.

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At the moment it is unknown whether Kazakhstan will seek to equip itself with a third Su-30SM squadron, opt for the modernized version of the latter, known as SU-30SM2 (or Super Sukhoi), or directly make the generational leap and acquire a squadron of Su-57Es, the export variant of the Russian 5th generation fighter.

The KADF still has several older Soviet-era fighter models to its credit that need to be replaced or modernized. In fact, it is the only operator of the MiG-31 outside Russia, which is evidence of the good strategic relations between the two countries. So it is to be expected that the Air Force will embark on a deep modernization process, based on the latest Russian models such as the Su-57 or the S-75 Checkmate.