Russia will complete the contracted delivery of 12 modernized Su-30K fighter jets to Angola by early 2018.
“So far, two [Su-30Ks have been delivered to Angola], there is a delivery schedule, and its fulfillment has been launched as for now. I think that the deliveries will be completed by early next year,” Aleksandr Vorobei, the deputy CEO of the 558 Aviation Repair Plant in Belarus, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
The Su-30K aircraft are ex-Indian Air Force jets, which has ordered more than 200 Su-30MKIs in a number of batches. The early models delivered were basic aircraft without features like canards and thrust vector controls, and it is these 18 early model aircraft (ten Su-30MK and eight Su-30K fighters delivered between May 1997 and December 1999) that were returned to Russia and replaced with more advanced Su-30MKIs.
The Angolan Air Force currently flies around half a dozen Su-27s, out of 18 originally delivered. It also has other Sukhoi aircraft in its inventory, notably the Su-22 and Su-24.
