Belarus receives new Su-30SM2 fighter jets

The Belarusian Air Force has received a batch of Russian Su-30SM2 multi-role fighter jets, which will soon be put on combat duty.

The press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Defense reported on this.

The batch of new aircraft, which was ordered as part of a contract for 12 aircraft, arrived in Belarus and landed at one of the Belarusian Air Force airfields.

The exact number of aircraft in the batch is unknown. However, it is highly likely that there are two aircraft, as this number corresponds to previous deliveries of Belarusian fighter jets and the overall production rate of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant.

“Our pilots have undergone retraining at a Russian training center for this type of aircraft. In the near future, the aircraft will be accepted and undergo technical inspection,” Major General Andrei Lukyanovich, Air Force and Air Defense Forces commander, said.

The commander of the Air Force said that the new aircraft and their pilots will be able to start combat duty in air defense as early as next week.

Andrei Lukyanovich added that Belarus plans to receive another batch of Su-30SM2 aircraft this year, as well as Mi-35M helicopters.

In total, this is the third batch of fighter jets to be delivered under a contract signed in 2017 between the Belarusian Ministry of Defense and the Russian corporation Irkut.

According to the agreement, 12 aircraft were to be delivered between 2018 and 2020. However, the contract was postponed due to technical changes in the configuration and sanctions affecting the supply of components.

The Belarusian Ministry of Defense publicly announced the delivery of only the first batch of four fighter jets in 2019. Later, in 2021, Russian Minister Denis Manturov stated that the 2017 contract could be considered fulfilled after the transfer of four aircraft.

However, the number of Su-30SM2s in service in the country may likely be higher. This is evidenced by the appearance in one of the defense ministry’s videos of an aircraft with the tail number “06” and Belarusian Air Force insignia.

For more information about Belarus’s air fleet, read the blog “Know Your Enemy: Belarus’s Air Force and Air Defense Forces” by historian and Doctor of Historical Sciences Andriy Kharuk.