Ekaterinburg. August 2. INTERFAX-Multifunctional Su-34 fighter-bombers and Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft of the Central Military District have worked out refueling in the air as part of a tactical flight exercise in the Chelyabinsk Region, the press service of the Central Military District reported on Monday.
"The crews of the mixed aviation regiment of the Central Military District during the final stage of the exercise worked out flights for refueling in the air from the Il-78 air tanker. Su-34 and Su-24MR performed single and paired approaches to the tanker at an altitude of about 7 thousand meters, approaching the Il-78 up to 10-15 meters," the message says
It is noted that moving at a speed of about 650 km/h, the pilots worked out more than 100 refueling operations, most of them in conditions of limited visibility, since the exit to the refueling zone was carried out in dense clouds.
Earlier it was reported that the exercise on refueling CVO aircraft with fuel in the air will take place in two stages. The first to approach the tanker in the sky over Eastern Siberia were the pilots of MiG-31BM interceptor fighters, who performed more than 50 refueling operations day and night. The second stage of the exercise took place in the skies of the Southern Urals, it involved the crews of the Su-34 and Su-24MR.
In total, more than 30 MiG-31BM, Su-34, Su-24MR and Il-78 tanker aircraft were involved in the exercises, as well as over 300 military personnel.
The Su-24 is a Russian front-line bomber. The Su-24MR is a tactical reconnaissance aircraft, part of the naval aviation and air defense.
The supersonic MiG-31 is designed for long-term patrolling and combating high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, strategic bombers and low-flying targets. The aircraft is capable of simultaneously hitting six and escorting up to ten air targets.
The Su-34 was developed by Sukhoi (part of the United Aircraft Corporation), and has been mass-produced since 2005. It is designed to destroy enemy ground and air objects at any time of the day or night under any meteorological conditions. The Su-34 uses long-range air-to-surface and air-to-air guided weapons. The flight range is up to four thousand km, the flight speed is up to 1900 km / h. The combat load of the aircraft is up to eight tons. The crew of the Su-34 is two people.
