Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA9503B
Su-30SM Russian Knights Russian Air Force, 2019
(with decals from No. 30 to 37)
 
General Background
The Sukhoi Su-30, initially named Su-27PU, is a two-seat multi-role fighter that evolved from the Su-27UB trainer version. The Su-30 was given new avionics and weapons for ground attack abilities. The aircraft began production in 1992 and in 1996 was renamed Su-30, NATO name is Flanker. The Su-30 has several variants, India has the MKI, Algeria has the MKA and Malaysia the MKM and Russia the SM. These 4 variants all have thrust vectoring and canards for added stability to compensate for the nose-heavy radars. There are several other Su-30 variants without canards.
 
The Aircraft 
Russian Air Force Aerobatic Team “Russian Knights” was formed in 1991 using aircraft and crews from the 237th Guards Proskurov Aircraft Demonstration Center at Kubinka, AB. They were originally equipped with 6 Su-27s but since 2016 have used 8 Su-30SM numbered from 30 through 37. The Russian flag appeared on the fins for the first year before being replaced with blue fins with stars. On November 7, 2019, a ceremony was held at Kubinka AB to introduce four multi-purpose single seat Su-35S’ that will replace the Su-30SMs.