In
a deal valued at roughly $900 million, Malaysia will take delivery of 18
Sukhoi Su-30MKM two-seat combat aircraft beginning in mid-2006. The
Su-30MKM will be produced by Irkut
Corporation (previously known as the Irkutsk Aviation Production
Association) and is based on the Su-30MKI currently in service with the
Indian Air Force. The SU-30 MKI is one of the most advance aircraft in service today and is fitted with the NIIP N011M Bars passive electronically scanned-array radar. While details of the Malaysian aircraft configuration and weapons package have yet to be revealed, some Russian industry sources suggest the aircraft will retain all of the air-to-surface capability of the Indian version. Besides air-to-air and
air-to-ground weaponry, the Royal Malaysian Air Force will likely look to equip
the Su-30MKM with a maritime strike capability. Options may include the Kh-35
(AS-20 Kayak), or the Kh-31A (AS-17 Krypton). Malaysia also might seek to
purchase the Indo-Russian Brahmos, now in the final stages of development.
Brahmos is a version of the Russian 3M-55 Onyx (SS-N-26) rocket-ramjet powered
anti-ship missile.
This
hypothetical SU-30 MKM model was constructed OOB from Berkut’s 1/72 scale SU
– 30 kit. Contrary to the picture found behind the box, the kit does not come
with canards.
As such, I used the canard taken from Italeri’s 1/72 scale Sea Flanker.
Work and the fact that I have to attend evening classes throughout the week
meant that I had to build the kit OBB warts and all. A fair bit of putty as well
as milliput was used to rectify the bad part fits but that was just about the
extent of time I could spend on the kit.
The plane was sprayed with Gunze H305 (similar scheme as used currently by the F-18D). Decals used were from the excellent sheet produced by F-4dable decals as well as from the kit itself. Many thanks to Vernon Law and especially Jason Cheah for their invaluable assistance in finishing the model. KT Goh |
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Photos and text © by KT Goh