Su-30SM — Meaningful Sidegrade

The Su-30SM is a twin-seater supemaneuverable fighter with a very powerful CAS loadout located in the USSR tech tree. It also has access to thrust vectoring nozzles for its engines, allowing for extreme maneuvering at low speeds.

Air-to-Air Capabilities

The Su-30 has access to a wide variety of guided missiles, both IR and radar-guided. These missiles can be equipped on 12 hardpoints, allowing for up to 14 missiles when using the dual R-77-1 racks on the two centerline pylons.

A noteable feature of this aircraft is its PESA radar, having a higher scan speed than mechanical scan radars but also being able to flawlessly track targets when using TWS.

• R-73 — Close-range self-defense IR AAM — It features an IR seeker with IRCCM and a thrust-vectoring rocket motor, a combination that makes this missile excel at close-range launches.
• R-77-1 — High performance long range ARH AAM — It features excellent maneuverability at all ranges, featuring a vastly improved rocket motor compared to the regular R-77 allowing it to reach longer ranges, being able to compete with missiles like the AIM-120. This missile can be used in a dogfighting situation as a desperate last measure but it is advised that there is at least a kilometer of separation between you and the enemy before launch.
• R-27ET — Long-range IR AAM — It has a very powerful rocket motor that provides the missile with a very high maximum range of over 10 km, even in rear-aspect with high enough speed at the correct altitude. The seeker of the missile also features IRCCM which makes it very difficult to flare, even at long ranges.
• R-27ER — Long-range SARH AAM — Just like the R-27ET, it has the same powerful rocket motor but even higher speed and range because of the more aerodynamic nose design. It is equipped with a Datalink system that allows the missile to re-acquire targets if the original radar lock is lost, as well as guide on targets the seeker of the missile cannot see but the launching aircraft can with some accuracy.

Air-to-Ground Capabilities

The Su-30SM follows the trend of most Soviet aircraft near its BR by complementing its amazing A-A loadout with very strong CAS capabilities. These weapons feature large warheads and can outrange most AA systems without much effort, making them some of the most efficient tools for CAS.

Unlike most other Soviet aircraft with similar capabilities however, the Su-30SM has the ability to mount an external targeting pod with a high definition and high zoom IR imager that allows the guidance of laser-guided munitions and the designation of targets for TV/IR-guided munitions.

While there is a massive variety of munitions available, the most effective ones available are:

• Kh-29TD — Medium-range TV-guided AGM. Features a very powerful warhead, even bigger than a 250kg bomb, and a maximum range of over 10km at higher speeds.
• Kh-29L — Medium-range SALH AGM. This is the SALH variant of the Kh-29TD, featuring identical performance but equipped with a laser seeker instead of a TV seeker.
• Kh-38MT — Long-range supersonic IR-guided AGM. With a range of over 20km, a high resolution, high zoom infrared imaging seeker, and a very powerful rocket motor as well as a powerful warhead, comparable to the Kh-29, it can take care of any target it is fired at (and that can even include enemy aircraft).
• Kh-38ML — Long-range supersonic SALH AGM. While it is quite similar to the Kh-38MT, it has more drag due to bigger wings.
• KAB-250LG — Laser-guided 250kg bomb equiped with IOG and GNSS guidance systems. Has a potent warhead and can be equipped on dual pylons on two hardpoints, allowing for an increased amount of A-G munitions compared to other options.

Flight Performance

This aircraft’s flight performance is very similar to the regular Su-27, being quite heavy and being equipped with underpowered engines. Despite the engines being thrust vectoring, this aircraft will often struggle in dogfights against other aircraft at its BR. Additionally, because of the underpowered engines, climbrate and acceleration are quite underwhelming which means that most often it will be falling behind of all other aircraft at its BR.

Where this aircraft excels at is stallfighting, being able to utilize the engines' thrust vectoring capabilities paired with canards to remain a lot more stable, even when almost completely still mid-air. Additionally, by removing the AOA limiter, it is possible to perform very high AOA maneuvers such as being able to bring the nose around by 180 degrees and getting a missile off or using the gun to take out any trailing enemy aircraft. Do note however that this should only be used as a last resort since a failed attempt will be a guaranteed trip back to the hangar.

Survivability

The main advantage of the Su-30 in terms of survivability is the L-150-30SM digital RWR. This RWR has IFF and provides a launch warning but also covers a very wide range of radar bands, from C band all the way to L band. The vast majority of aircraft as well as AA systems operate in these bands which means that if an enemy has detected you on their radar, the RWR will be able to warn you about it.

The main downside however is the very low amount of countermeasures (at least compared to other aircraft near its BR), having only 98 large caliber countermeasures available. Despite their low count however, these countermeasures can last for a long time thanks to the fact that they launch one by one rather than in pairs. Additionally, they are launched upwards so it makes them exceptionally effective at decoying missiles equipped with IRCCM since the flares go directly into the missile’s FOV.

Conclusion

The Su-30SM is a quite potent multirole aircraft, having a very powerful CAS loadout but also being able to compete with other top tier fighters because of the large amount of A-A missiles this aircraft carries.

In air battles, it is recommended to play behind the frontlines, taking kills of opportunity while making sure to not get too close to the enemy team since it will be easy to be overwhelmed and run out of countermeasures without having the flight performance to leave the enemy’s missile range in time.

It is also possible to use this aircraft as a light bomber, having enough ordnance to destroy multiple bases before having to head back to rearm.

In ground battles however, this aircraft can be played in multiple ways. Utilizing the large amount of Kh-38MT missiles and staying outside of AA range can yield a relatively large amount of kills with relatively low risk. However for the more daring, it is possible to bring laser guided bombs paired with laser guided missiles and fly right on top of the battlefield. This presents a significantly higher risk at the tradeoff of gaining the ability to get a lot more kills while minimizing the chances of a target you fired a missile at getting destroyed before your missile reaches them, all while also enjoying a lower SP cost because of the lack of TV/IR-guided munitions.