Vietnam receives two more 'King Cobras' Su-30MK2

Vietnam just received two more state-of-the-art Su-30MK2 fighter jets at the end of last November.

Vietnam has just received two new Su-30MK2 multi-role fighters.

According to the Russian global arms trade analysis magazine TSAMTO, the Vietnam Air Force has just received two new Su-30MK2 multi-role fighter jets manufactured by the Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi. These are the first two Su-30MK2s delivered by Russia to Vietnam within the framework of a contract to purchase 12 of this type of aircraft, with a total estimated value of 600 million USD, signed in August 2013.

According to sources, two new Su-30MK2s were received by Vietnam at the end of November, and according to plan, by the end of December, Russia will continue to provide Vietnam with two more Su-30MK2s to complete the 2014 plan. The remaining eight aircraft are scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Vietnam has been actively purchasing Russian multi-role fighters since the 1990s after a long period of decline in bilateral military-technical cooperation. In 1995, Vietnam ordered the first batch of six Su-27s (five Su-27SKs and one Su-27UBK) from Russia for $150 million. In early 1997, Hanoi ordered the second batch (five Su-27SKs and one Su-27UBK).

In December 2003, Rosoboronexport signed another contract to supply Vietnam with four Su-30MK aircraft - a version modified to suit the requirements of the Vietnam Air Force. The delivery was completed in 2004, along with the costs of purchasing components, spare parts and other necessary weapons amounting to 120 million USD.

In early 2009, Vietnam continued to sign a contract to buy 8 Su-30MK2s worth about 400 million USD (without weapons) and in February 2010, Hanoi continued to sign another contract worth 1 billion USD to buy 12 Su-30MK2Vs equipped with weapons and spare parts for the entire batch of 8 aircraft purchased in 2009.

Thus, up to this point, the Vietnam Air Force has been equipped with 26 modern, multi-purpose Su-30MK2 fighter aircraft. After 2015, this number will increase to 36. The Su-30MK2 has become the most modern and multi-purpose fighter aircraft in the Vietnam Air Force's inventory. The new aircraft, after being received and trained to master, will significantly increase the air, sea and ground combat power of our army.

According to Dat Viet Newspaper, Internet