Forum: Air Power

Quote:

Tehran and the Russian Rosoboronexport arms group are about to sign a mammoth arms deal running into tens of billions of dollars for the sale to Tehran of 250 Su-30MKM warplanes and 20 IL-78 MKI fuel tankers. DEBKAfile's military sources report Iran has stipulated delivery of the first aircraft before the end of 2007.

The transaction, Russia's largest arms deal in 30 years, will endow Iran with a long-range aerial assault capability. The Sukhoi can sustain a four-and-a-half hour raid at its maximum range of 3,000 km against long-distance, marine and low-lying ground targets across the Persian Gulf and Middle East, including Israel and Lebanon.

The fuel tankers extends the Su-30MKM's assault sustainability to 10 hours and its range to 8,000 km at altitudes of 11-13 km. The closest comparable plane in the West is the American F-15E fighter bomber. Iran's acquisition of an exceptionally large fleet of the Russian fighter-bomber will elevate its air force to one of the two largest and most advanced in the region, alongside the Israeli Air Force. Iranian air crews are already training on the new Sukhoi aircraft, ready to start flying them early next year with only a short delay after delivery...

p.s. but 250 Shocked

??

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Do you have a source for this story PATRIOT? It looks like an interesting one...

Sources:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/mh/paris062107/index.php?startpage=10 - (AviationWeek - Shownews)
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4449
http://debka.com/article.php?aid=1295

Discussion:
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?s=f01ac27411bbad92226f7a121998f75e&t=72579

Thanks Capt`n for those links.

Even if they get 250 SU-30s` will they have crews that are good enough to use them? Or....will they bury them in the sand Iraqi style? Either way they could all disappear in a cloud of vapour before they leave the ground. Your article states that they won`t be getting state of the art avionics from Israel (We don`t need a crystal ball to see that ain`t going to happen!!!) or France.

They won`t be in the same league as the Indian MKI`s and they won`t get 250 into the air in a fight. That`s 250 smokin` holes in my estimation.

If this deal ever does happen, lets just hope they don't go on a Flanker friendly anti-ship, anti-AWACs missile buying spree. We don't need that kind of headache no matter how well a theater commander thinks they can handle the threat.

Last edited by Tim on Aug 03, 2007 - 03:24 AM; edited 1 time in total

These guys scare the hell outta me. Fanatics with soviet airpower? Just my opinion,but i think were gonna wind up getting poked with a stick by the guys once to often Poke

and we're gonna have to flex a little more muscle. Next thing we know we gotta fight the entire region because we "Started a holy war" Just my thoughts.

Hey--look at it this way: it'll be good practice for our Raptor drivers. Live shots at Sukhois. Don't get much better than that!

Either way, it racks up the tension in a hostile region. Seems the whole world is embarked on a new arms race.

Just found this...

The Russians are saying it is BS. The whole deal is just propaganda..
This is from Kommersant, the Russian daily online.

The Israeli press reports caused consternation in Russia. “It's either a provocation or it's delusion,” Dmitry Shugaev, chief of staff of the Rosoboronexport general director told Kommersant. A Sukhoi spokesman told Kommersant that “It is a provocation by the Israeli media. here are no negotiations with Iran for the delivery of fighter planes, much less such a huge lot.” Nor does the Russian Foreign Ministry or Defense Ministry know anything about them. A high-placed representative of the United Aviation Construction Corp. told Kommersant that filling such a large order in the next few years would not be possible even theoretically. “There are only three plants in Russia that assembler fighter planes of the Su-30 type – in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk, and they are all engaged with orders. So there is no one to make 250 planes for Iran,” he said. Independent experts also say that such an order is unfillable. “Even with good market conditions for oil prices, Iran isn't likely to come up with the necessary sum. Two hundred fifty fighters of the Su-303MKM type – that's about $10 billion,” noted Konstantin Makienko of the Center for the Analysis of Strategy and Technology.

http://www.kommersant.com/p791508/r_542 ... diplomacy/

The current state of Iran's Air Force is really crazy. I mean, just look at the clutter of different types of platforms they're operating at the moment. They range from F-14 Tomcats, F-4 Phantoms, F-5 Tigers, to MiG-29 Fulcrums, Su-24 Fencers, Su-25 Frogfoots and even F-7 Airguards. And even if they are to order 250 Flankers, it wouldn't be till, say like .... 2012 that they start flying these fighters into Iran. But going by what the Russians have stated, I guess there is no deal here.

Ah, who gives a sh*t......Just because you can afford the aircraft doesn't mean you can afford the maintenance and parts costs to keep them flying.
I read this in Air Forces Monthly, the current issue has a nice write-up on the Flankers in the Indian Air Force that flew to the UK for Indhandarush II (sp?)
exercises with the RAF. Bring 'em on, I say, I've been itching for a good old-fashioned air war. Same goes for Venezuela too. BRING IT. Twisted Evil

That's right. How many Su-30MKMs can the Iranians keep operational?

Forum: Air Power

Iran going to buy 250 Sukhoi 30MKM and 20 Il-78 tankers !