Vietnam is upgrading its own fighter jets.

Not only can Vietnam's defense industry domestically produce some components for its main fighter aircraft, but it can also independently upgrade the Su-27UBK to a new standard.

Component manufacturing

According to the Air Defense-Air Force newspaper, the Air Defense-Air Force Engineering Institute has recently carried out comprehensive and synchronized research and successfully manufactured many components and equipment for the main combat aircraft of the Vietnamese Air Force.

In 2016, the Institute implemented 9 projects (leading 4 projects under the Ministry of National Defence and participating in 5 projects), 10 research topics, 12 science and technology tasks, and 65 technical tasks at various levels. The projects and tasks were highly evaluated for their quality and practicality.

The Air Defense-Air Force Technical Institute is carrying out research, manufacturing, and testing projects on the MTL-VN2 transponder for Su-22M4 aircraft, the MTL-VN3 transponder for naval vessels, and the 6110-VN2 device for Su-30MK2 aircraft, on schedule and with good results.

The institute has also perfected the technology and conducted trial production of the BI-VKT fire alarm amplifier unit for Mi-8, Mi-17, and Su-30MK2 helicopters; this product has now been successfully approved by the management level.

The upgraded Su-27 fighter jet.

The institute has also perfected the technology and conducted trial production of the BI-VKT fire alarm amplifier unit for Mi-8, Mi-17, and Su-30MK2 helicopters; this product has now been successfully approved by the management level.

In addition, the Air Defense and Air Force Technical Institute has successfully completed the acceptance testing of many Ministry of Defense-level projects, achieving an A rating, such as: Research, design, and manufacturing of a multi-functional display with integrated satellite navigation and data recording to replace the IPV-1 direct indicator unit.

The TNL-1000 satellite navigation device is used in the weapon control system on the Su-27 aircraft. Research, design, and successful manufacturing of the CB-5V70-CM module of the SIMVOL-GIB computer on the Su-27SK aircraft.

Besides the projects that have been completed and are being implemented according to plan, in 2016, the Institute successfully defended the preliminary proposals for two projects at the Ministry of National Defense level for 2017: "Target Designation and Navigation System for Su-22M4".

Self-upgrade

Along with its success in component manufacturing, Vietnam's defense industry has also upgraded many other military equipment, including the Su-27UBK, to a new standard. The Air Force recently posted images of the Su-27 fighter jets at the 925th Fighter Regiment.

This involves both the single-seat Su-27SK and two-seat Su-27UBK aircraft having their camouflage paint schemes changed. This paint change is believed to indicate that the Su-27 fighters have undergone a major overhaul, possibly including upgrades.

Surprisingly, while the Su-27SK aircraft use the same, albeit slightly darker, sky-blue camouflage, the Su-27UBK fighter jets (for training and combat, two-seater) are painted in a sugarcane green color.

Similar to the new Su-30MK2 aircraft, which are deployed to the 923rd Air Regiment, there is a possibility that the Su-27UBK aircraft have been upgraded to the Su-30MK2 standard. This adds air-ground and air-sea combat roles alongside their excellent air superiority capabilities.

Upgrading the Su-27UBK to the Su-30MK2 standard is considered not too difficult because the Su-30MK prototype used to develop the MKK, MK2, and MKI versions was designed based on improvements to the two-seat Su-27UB (UBK being the export version), which was originally used for pilot training and combat missions.

It cannot be ruled out that Vietnam has independently carried out this upgrade process, given the appearance of images showing the 8526 Su-27UBK being repaired at the A32 factory. If this is true, then we would have fighter jets even more powerful than the original Su-30MK2.

According to Baodatviet