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Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flanker-H - When East meets West in Southeast Asia
Hi and welcome to my 66th, which is about the Malaysian Su-30MKM, hope you like it. 
First of all:
- Feel free to share more Information and / or correct me if something is wrong
- Discuss respectfully, any aggressive kind or verbal abuse will be reported, the Forum rules also apply here
Background History
Malaysia’s step to acquire the Su-30MK(M) began in the late 1990s with the tendering of a requirement for multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA). In January 2001, Malaysian news reported that the country was close to finalising a contract to purchase Su-30s under the designation Su-30MKM (Modernised Commercial Malaysian). Malaysia was looking for the Su-30MKM to replace seven of their outdated Northrop F-5E. The Su-30s were intended to complement the RMAF’s (Royal Malaysian Air Force) MiG-29N in the air-to-air role and Boeing F/A-18D(+) Hornet in the air-to-air and air-to-ground roles.
On 5 August 2003, during a visit of the President of the Russian Federation, Malaysia ordered eighteen Su-30MKM multirole combat aircraft under a US$900 million contract. The design was selected after a thorough analysis of the Su-30MKI derivative and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Two pre-production Su-30MKI, side codes 04 and 05, were apparently fitted with flight test equipment for the Su-30MKM and Su-30MKI(A) (an configuration for Algeria). The first flight in MKM configuration took place on 23 May 2006 at Zhukovsky, with test pilots Sergey Kostin and Vyacheslav Averyanov on board. The second pre-production aircraft flew on 9 June 2006 in Su-30MKM configuration. Flight tests, conducted mainly at Zhukovsky and at the State Flight Test Centre of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (GLIT) in Akhtubinsk, were completed in the first third of 2007, by which time serial production of the Su-30MKM had begun at the Irkutsk plant.
The first two production Su-30MKMs were officially handed over to the RMAF at a handover ceremony in Irkutsk on 24 May 2007. On the 18th of the following month, these two aircraft were delivered as air cargo by an AN-124 heavy transport aircraft to Gong Kedak Air Force Base in Kelantan Province on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Two more Su-30MKMs were delivered on 10 August 2007.
Delivery of the first Su-30MKM enabled the start of conversion training, supported by a team of three Sukhoi test pilots: Yevgeny Frolov, Sergey Bogdan and Sergey Kostin. Training of the Malaysian crews was completed in time to allow a trio of Malaysian-piloted Su-30MKMs to participate in the air segment of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence from Britain on 31 August 2007.
Two Su-30MKMs performed demonstration flights at the 9th International Air and Maritime Defence Exhibition - LIMA-2007 in December 2007, flown by the first pilots of the RMAF’s 11th Squadron to be qualified on the aircraft. The two Su-30MKMs provided an impressive display over Langkawi.
The last four aircraft from the last batch of six of the eighteen aircraft ordered were delivered to Malaysia at the end of November 2009.
According to Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu, Malaysia grounded 14 out of 18 Su-30MKMs in 2018 due to engine problems and lack of availability of spare parts. To overcome this problem and increase the operational readiness of the Su-30MKM fleet, Malaysia has approved a budget of RM2.2 billion (roughly US$490 million) to upgrade the Su-30MKM locally by the Aerospace Technology Systems Corporation. The first upgraded aircraft was showcased at the LIMA 2019 exhibition in 2019.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKM Overall
The Su-30MKM was developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and is based on the Su-30MKI and differs mainly in the onboard avionics. Thales Group supplies the head-up display (HUD), NAVFLIR and the DAMOCLES targeting pod system. The MKM is also equipped with missile approach warning systems (MAWS) and laser warning sensors (LWS) manufactured by SAAB Avitronics South Africa.
The Su-30MKM can rightly claim super-maneuverability due to its digital fly-by-wire controls, canards, and two Saturn AL-31FP engines with 3D thrust-vectoring.
The electronic warfare (EW) systems, phased array radars, and optical tracking systems with laser rangefinder were all were taken over from the MKI, like the NIIP N011M Bars-R phased-array (PESA) Radar, capable of tracking up to 15 targets and engaging four targets simultaneously.
The aircraft is capable of conducting SEAD missions when equipped with two KNIRTI SAP-518 jamming pods and Kh-31P anti-radar missiles. The KNIRTI SAP-518 covers NATO surface-to-air and air-to-air threats in the G-J bands.
Armament of the Su-30MKM
In 2016, a Su-30MKM successfully dropped a GBU-12 during a firing exercise using the DAMOCLES targeting pod. An aircraft with registration number M52-08 successfully dropped the bombs at the Kota Belud firing range in Sabah on November 27, 2016, making it the first Russian-made Sukhoi fighter aircraft compatible with this weapon.
Except for this west/east combination, the Su-30MKM is identical to the Su-30MKI / SM, but exactly which armament was acquired for the Su-30MKM is not 100% clear.
Air-to-Air Missiles
- 6x R-73E
- 8x R-27ER1
- 2x R-27ET1
- 10x RVV-AE / RVV-SD
Guided- / Dumb- Bombs, Missiles & Rockets
- 80x S-8
- 20x S-13
- 6x Kh-29TE
- 6x Kh-31A
- 6x Kh-31P
- 2x Kh-59MK
- 4x GBU-12
- 6x KAB-500L
- 3x KAB-1500L
- 28x OFAB-250-270
- 32x FAB-100-120
Pods / Other
- 1x DAMOCLES TGP
- 2x KNIRTI SAP-518 Jamming Pods
Specifications, Electronics and Internal
- Crew: 2
- Length: 21,94 m
- Wingspan: 14,7 m
- Height: 6,36 m
- Max. takeoff weight: 34.500 kg
- Powerplant: 2x Saturn AL-31FP
- Dry thrust: 2 × 79,4 kN
- Afterburner thrust: 2x 122,54 kN
- Maximum speed: 2100 km/h
- Service ceiling: 17,300 m
- Rate of climb: 230 m/s
- Maximum g-load: +9g / -3g
Thanks for your time, hope you liked it 
[Will add more if there are some (more) important / declassified things]
[PM or comment if a Link or Picture isn´t working]
Sources:
Links
Malaysian Support The Troops: ENTER THE MALAYSIAN GROWLERSKI
MILAVIA Aircraft - Sukhoi Su-30 Multi-Role Flankers
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2017/06/15/malaysia-adapts-russian-built-jets-to-drop-us-made-bombs/
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/mini-awacs-the-powerful-n011m-bars-hybrid-radar-system-su-30-mki.256937/
Bars Radar | PDF | Military Technology | Microwave Technology
Su-30SM/Su-30SM1 Multirole Fighter Aircraft, Russia | Thai Military and Asian Region
Sukhoi Flankers - The Shifting Balance of Regional Air Power
Books / Other:
-Sukhoi Su-30 Super-Manoeuvrable Family: Su-30MKI / MKM / MKI (A) / SM - Hugh Harkins (2016)
-Sukhoi Su-27 - Yefim Gordon (2007)
List of Suggestions of ASEAN region
