Armenia’s Elite New Su-30SM Jets to Provide Overwhelming Advantage Over Azerbaijan's Ageing Fleet

The Armenia’s Air Force's combat fleet is set to undergo a significant much needed modernisation with the acquisition of four advanced Su-30SM air superiority fighters from Russia. Armenian Defence Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisyan stated that Yerevan had negotiated for the acquisition of the fighters at a considerably reduced cost - the same price as that with which the Russian Air Force acquired the jets which was considerably lower than that of export clients beyond the former Soviet Union. "As a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO - an alliance of Soviet successor states primarily located in Central Asia), Armenia can acquire various weapons at (Russian) domestic prices. We have been conducting such procurements for a long time." The spokesman further stated regarding the acquisition: "The aircraft will substantially increase both the defensive and offensive capabilities of the (Armenian) military, and our plans are not limited to these four fighters.”

Armenia retains high level defence cooperation with Russia, as well as neighbouring Iran, and the development of its capabilities are primarily in preparation for a potential conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan. The Armenian Air Force currently lacks any jet fighters capable of air to air combat, fielding only helicopters and Su-25 attack jets inherited from the Soviet Union in 1991. As such, the country has long relied on the protection of Russian fighters under a military cooperation treaty - formerly advanced variants of the MiG-23 but more recently the MiG-29. The service is also responsible for operating the country’s air defence assets, which include the S-300PM - an old Cold War era variant of the missile system which has been fully retired by Russia and retains far more limited capabilities than its modern analogues - and other old platforms such as the 2K12 Kub and S-125. The BuK-M2 surface to air missile system is the country’s only modern aerial warfare asset.

The Su-30 is set to both alleviate the burden on the Russian Air Force of protecting Armenian airspace while also providing the country with a more advanced capability to better match that of Azerbaijan. The Azeri Air Force fields two battalions of the advanced S-300PMU-2 surface to air missile system alongside a wide range of Israeli made drones. The country also fields Su-25 attack jets - as well as 18 MiG-29 fighters and two Su-24 strike fighters, all of which are old Soviet era variants. Armenia’s acquisition of the Su-30 ‘4+ generation’ fighters will thus provide it with an overwhelming advantage, both in terms of its sophistication, over 25 years ahead of the Azeri MiGs, and in terms of its weight range - as a high end air superiority fighter which the Azeri Air Force cannot match. Previously engagements of MiG-29 jets against older variants of the Su-27 Flanker, the Soviet era predecessor to the Su-30, led to heavy losses among the lighter platforms and none among the Flankers. This advantage is further cemented by Azerbaijan’s lack of modern medium or long range air to air missiles, deploying only a small number of older R-27 variants, where the Armenian Su-30 jets are almost certain to deploy the R-77 and other high end modern munitions.

While Armenia has placed an order for just four Su-30SM fighters, it is no exaggeration to say that these can very likely defeat the entire Azeri Air Force unsupported assuming a comparable quality of pilots. The Su-30SM retains a detection range of 400km and a search range of 200km using its heavy N011M Bars radar with phased array antenna. As a higher end Su-30 variant, the SM variant is equipped with two dimensional thrust vectoring for supermanoeuvrability and state of the art electronic warfare systems. The highly capable SAP-518 jamming pods can be mounted on the fighter’s wing tips for the suppression of enemy air defences, and combined with the survivability granted by thrust vectoring systems they make the Su-30 a challenge for even the Azeri S-300PMU-2 to target. The Armenian Defence Ministry has stated that it is set to consider acquiring further Su-30 fighters once the initial aircraft are delivered in 2020. How Azerbaijan will respond, particularly given the scarcity of sources for similarly capable heavy air superiority fighters due to Chinese and American export restrictions on such platforms, remains to be seen - but investing in modernisation of its fighter fleet, most likely with lighter jets, remains likely.