Jane’s didn’t mention the model of the Su-30 that the Philippine Air Force (PAF) is considering, but flashback to 2016 when the Russian News Agency Tass said that Russia was offering the Su-30SME Flanker-C to South East Asian countries.
So this could be the model the PAF is considering. The Su-30SME is the latest production version of the Su-30 and is based on the Su-30SM used by the Russian Air Force.
The Su-30 can be quite cheap, the cheapest package I found in the internet was when Venezuela bought them for only Usd 42 million each back in 2006. Even when Vietnam bought their Su-30MK2, it was only for Usd 78 million each. In South East Asia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia operate the Su-30.
So this could be the model the PAF is considering. The Su-30SME is the latest production version of the Su-30 and is based on the Su-30SM used by the Russian Air Force.
The Su-30 can be quite cheap, the cheapest package I found in the internet was when Venezuela bought them for only Usd 42 million each back in 2006. Even when Vietnam bought their Su-30MK2, it was only for Usd 78 million each. In South East Asia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia operate the Su-30.
The problem though is that as expected of a large, twin-engine aircraft, the Su-30 will likely have a very high Operating Cost. There aren’t a lot of figures in the internet about its Cost per Flight Hour (CPFH) of the Su-30, but one report says that it is around Usd 35k per hour.
This is more expensive than the CPFH of the F-15C Eagle and about as expensive as that of an F-22 Raptor as operated by the United States Air Force (USAF).
SOURCES:
* Russia unveils Su-30SME Fighter Export Version at Singapore Airshow
* Su-30MK2 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft
* Does Belarus really need Russian Su-30SM Fighters?
* US Armed Forces Aircraft Operating Costs - August 2016
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