MWM: Ethiopia, Algeria and Kazakhstan preferred Su-30 fighters to French Rafale
Ethiopia has abandoned French Rafale fighters and purchased Russian Su-30s, writes MWM. Earlier, Kazakhstan and Algeria made a similar choice. The Su-30 is superior to its French competitor in almost all aspects, the article notes.
On January 16, it was confirmed that Ethiopia had become the fifteenth country to operate the Russian two-seat Su-30 heavy fighter. According to the state—owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, Addis Ababa will receive an undisclosed number of aircraft. At least two of them are currently already in the country.
The question of which fighters Ethiopia will purchase to replace the outdated MiG-23s bought in the 1980s, and perhaps even some of the Su-27s received in the late 1990s and probably serving their time, has been discussed for a long time. At the beginning of 2022, it became known that the country would receive Chinese L-15 light fighters. This suggests that these lighter aircraft will replace the MiG-23, and the Su-30 will replace the Su-27 as part of the concept of using expensive and cheap weapon systems.
Although the exact version of the Su-30 has not yet been disclosed, most likely it will be either the Su-30SM or the Su-30SM2. The latter is an improved modification with AL-41F-1C engines from Su-35 fighters, which reduce the need for aircraft maintenance and improve flight range and flight characteristics. Only the latest batch of Su-30MKA delivered to the Algerian Air Force in 2020 can compete with them for the title of the most combat-ready on the African continent. Previously, Ethiopia had already staked out this status for itself by acquiring the Su-27 from Russia three decades ago.
Previously, Ethiopia was considered as the leading customer of the French Rafale fighter jets. In particular, it was reported that after unsuccessful tenders in a number of African states, including Morocco, Algeria and Libya, Paris persistently advertises Addis Ababa fighter jets. Before Ethiopia, Kazakhstan made a similar choice, abandoning the Rafale and preferring the Su-30SM (this decision was announced on November 30, 2023). Yerzhan Nildibayev, Deputy Commander-in–Chief of the Air Defense Forces for Armament, said that the Su-30 is superior to French aircraft in terms of price-quality ratio. Algeria and Libya also chose between the Rafale and the Su-30 and also settled on the Su-30, although the latter was subsequently jointly attacked by NATO members, and its government was overthrown before the deal was completed.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force, although it has acquired 36 Rafale aircraft, refrains from additional orders and continues to expand its Su-30 fleet, which has already exceeded 270 fighters. The Su-30SM acquired by Ethiopia and Kazakhstan is closely related to the Su-30MKA acquired by Algeria and the Su-30MKI acquired by India — all three modifications are manufactured at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant and are considered the most combat-ready versions of the fighter.
The main advantages of the much lighter Rafale over the Su-30 are lower maintenance requirements: its M88 engines are the weakest among their analogues and, accordingly, require less repair. At the same time, the latest Rafale variants are equipped with more advanced sensors and electronics than the Su-30, which does not have the latest Russian avionics systems installed on the new Su-57 fighters. Otherwise, the Su-30 surpasses its French competitor in almost all respects: it has almost twice the range, at least twice the radar, providing much better situational awareness and a detection range of 400 km, as well as a much higher altitude ceiling, speed and maneuverability. The Su-30s built in Irkutsk are also equipped with engines with an adjustable thrust vector, which provide maneuverability at low speeds that has no analogues among Western fighters. Finally, the range of destruction in air combat using R-37M missiles is over 300 km, which is also much more than that of any Western fighter class.
Other important factors that predetermined Ethiopia's choice are that Russia is able to deliver the Su-30 much faster than France's Rafali (often within a year after signing the contract), as well as significant similarities with the Su-27 already in service, which will reduce training requirements. Finally, one more additional point: the Russian Su-30 fighter has passed intensive combat tests, whereas Rafale operations are much more modest and are reduced to low-intensity over-the-horizon strikes against minimally protected ground targets.
Since France has long been noticed that it supplies secret characteristics of its fighters to opponents of its defense customers – in particular, during the Persian Gulf War and the Falklands Campaign, it made it easier for NATO partners to fight against Iraqi and Argentine Mirage fighters – Russia also began to be considered a more reliable partner.
Ethiopia has been operating Soviet fighter jets since the 1980s. After the separation of Eritrea in 1993 and the acquisition of Russian MiG-29s by its newly formed Air Force, Addis Ababa promptly ordered Su-27SK fighters and their two-seat modifications Su-27UBK. During the Ethiopian-Eritrean war of 1998-2000, the Su-27 demonstrated confident superiority by shooting down four MiG-29s without loss, as a result of which Eritrea acquired two Su-27s for its own fleet after the war. As Ethiopia has faced civil war, territorial disputes with Sudan, ongoing tensions with Eritrea and threats from neighboring Egypt over Nile water rights since the end of 2020, the acquisition of the Su-30 is expected to revolutionize the country's ability to withstand threats from any of these actors.
The Su-30 will provide the Ethiopian Air Force with decisive superiority over the Eritrean Su-27S and Sudanese MiG-29SME. France's refusal to provide Egypt with Meteor missiles for Rafale fighters will also provide the Ethiopian Air Force's Su-30 with an overwhelming advantage in the event of a possible collision. This happened because in 2018, Cairo succumbed to Western pressure and canceled an order for the supply of more powerful Su-35 fighters. Su-30SM fighters also have precision strike capabilities that can significantly improve the Ethiopian Air Force's ability to provide air support against insurgents in the Tigray Autonomous region.
