Electronic warfare system revealed on Vietnam's Su-30
In a recent article in the People's Army Newspaper, for the first time the electronic warfare system on the Vietnamese Su-30 was made public. So what are the advantages of this system?
The published images show that the Su-30MK2 of Regiment 935, Division 370, Air Defense - Air Force, in addition to being equipped with R-27 air-to-air missiles, also has electronic warfare pods at both wing tips ready for combat.
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| Vietnam's Su-30MK2 fighter carries air-to-air missiles and electronic warfare pods. Photo: QĐND |
According to information made public by Russia, the Flanker fighter jet line exported by Russia is often equipped with the L-203 Gardenia jamming pod.
The weapon is in the form of a small torpedo attached to the wingtip to help the aircraft deal with enemy attack weapons.
When faced with a missile, the L-203 Gardenia system will be activated and shield the aircraft through an electronic fence, aiming to intercept the missile and make it deviate, increasing the survivability of the equipped fighter.
Most recently, Russia has officially "launched" a new generation of electronic jamming equipment called L-265M10 Khibiny-M to equip Su-27SM3 and Su-35S fighters, giving them a significant advantage over the Flanker variant sold abroad.
The question experts are asking now is whether in the future when Vietnam buys Su-35S, will Russia agree to sell us L-265M10 Khibiny-M pods?
According to many military experts, this possibility is completely feasible due to the very good cooperation between the two countries, however, its features will be slightly reduced to suit the export version.
Besides being integrated for Su-35S, L-265M10 Khibiny-M can also be used for older generations of fighters such as Su-27SK/UBK or Su-30MK2.
If Vietnam does not want to buy the reduced-feature version of Khibiny-M, we have another option: Ukraine, which recently launched an electronic countermeasures device called Omut with similar features.
According to The Aviationist magazine, if the customer "spends a lot of money", Kiev is likely to be willing to sell the production technology to solve the current financial difficulties.