Russia’s naval aviation has received a batch of advanced Su-30SM (Flanker-C) multirole fighter jets, Navy spokesman Igor Drygalo said.

Su-30SM are air superiority jets of the 4++ generation that combine functions of a fighter and a bomber. They are produced in Irkutsk in southern Siberia.

“The handover ceremony took place at the airfield of the Irkutsk aviation factory where pilots of the Russian Navy’s maritime combat aviation corps received another batch of Su-30SM jets,” Сapt. 1st Rank Drygalo told reporters. Russia’s Defense Ministry has commissioned the Irkutsk plant to build 88 fighters for the Aerospace Forces and 28 fighters for the naval aviation by 2018. Navy commander-in-chief Vladimir Korolyov said on November 22 that the aviation branch of the Navy would get six Su-30SMs by the end of this year.