Should Vietnam buy back Su-30M2 to complete its lineup?

After the accident last year with Su-30MK2 number 8585, the combat formation of Air Regiment 927 is currently missing a position.

The 927th Air Force Regiment (Lam Son Air Force) stationed at Kep airport is the third unit of the Vietnam People's Air Force to have in its inventory the extremely modern Su-30MK2 fighter jets.

Unlike the 935th Regiment stationed in Bien Hoa and the 923rd Regiment in Tho Xuan, the Su-30MK2 squadron of the 927th Regiment is the newest because it was equipped last. However, unfortunately, the accident that occurred in 2016 with the aircraft numbered 8585 caused the unit's squadron to be missing a position.

For an air force unit that has just put into operation new weapons, this is something that should be overcome. According to foreign experts, should we find a way to supplement the Regiment's staff?

Su-30MK2 fighter jet number 8590 of Air Force Regiment 927.

One of the first mentioned candidates is the Su-30K, part of the batch that India returned to Russia and is still at Aircraft Repair Plant No. 558 in Belarus.

But what needs to be noted is that the Su-30K's features when upgraded to Su-30KN standard are still far inferior to Su-30MK2, its life cycle is not much even after being overhauled to Zero-time, the price of 43 million USD is also almost the same as a newly produced Su-30MK2.

With the above disadvantages, the option of buying back 1 Su-30K seems inappropriate, and according to new information, it is possible that the remaining 6 have found customers in the South Asia region.

The second and more reasonable option is to request to buy back one Su-30M2 that Vietnam had cut in the 2009 purchase contract.

Su-30M2 fighter of the Russian Air Force

The Su-30M2, manufactured by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO), is the domestic version for the Russian Air Force from the export variant Su-30MK2. In terms of appearance, it is identical to the Su-30MK2, except that it is integrated with some exclusive Russian electronic equipment.

Specifically, the Su-30M2's radar is the N001VE-Pero type - an upgraded version of the N001VEP installed on the Su-30MK2, which can control missiles to simultaneously attack 6 air targets or 4 ground targets, and the detection range of large aircraft is increased to 190 km compared to 150 km of the N001VEP.

The Su-27M2's engine is the AL-31FM1 with a thrust of 135 kN (compared to 123 kN of the AL-31F) and an advanced flight control system, helping the Su-30M2 achieve higher performance and reliability than the export version of the Su-30MK2.

The similarity between the Su-30M2 and the Su-30MK2 makes it the most promising candidate in case Vietnam wants to complete the formation of the 927th Regiment, hoping that a Su-30M2 will land in Vietnam after missing the deadline in 2009.

According to Baodatviet