Sukhoi Su-30MKI

[Rajput Lion]

Su-30MKI internal fuel weight on Wikipedia was 11 tons, now showing 9.64 tons

11.3 ton is for Su-35S. MKI is based on old Su-27M(Su-35/Su-37) that had around 10.25 tonnes of internal fuel. MKI's internal fuel capacity was always presented as 9.64 tonnes. In-reality it could be around 10 tonnes, but that's about it.

 

[Speedster1]

That reminds me....are they planning to add plumbing for drop tanks as part of the upgrade? There was some talk about it a while back iirc.

 

[Bhartiya Naagrik Sainik]

11.3 ton is for Su-35S. MKI is based on old Su-27M(Su-35/Su-37) that had around 10.25 tonnes of internal fuel. MKI's internal fuel capacity was always presented as 9.64 tonnes. In-reality it could be around 10 tonnes, but that's about it.

Well, people can visit the edit-history & see how many times the values have changed. It is very confusing for public which website to trust.
IAF doesn't seem tohave a specs page of current jets, does it?
BTW, any idea how much internal fuel J-16 would have?

 

[Rajput Lion]

Well, people can visit the edit-history & see how many times the values have changed. It is very confusing for public which website to trust.
IAF doesn't seem tohave a specs page of current jets, does it?
BTW, any idea how much internal fuel J-16 would have?

Su-30MKK's airframe was also derived from Su-27M program(UB Variant), so it also has 10.25 tonnes of internal fuel. J-16 being Chinese version of Su-30MKK seems to have equal internal fuel capacity.

We need to remember that this 10.25 tonnes is the "maximum' limit that any Flanker version(minus Su-34) can carry internally. Su-35S has almost 11.5 tonnes because its airbrake was removed and replaced with an 1 tonne fuel tank. So ~10.3 tonnes + 1 tonne= Near 11.3 tonnes fuel it carries internally. Hope it helped you and your confusion is clear now

Also, don't worry about Wikipedia edits as most can do it, lol.

 

[Bhartiya Naagrik Sainik]

Su-30MKK's airframe was also derived from Su-27M program(UB Variant), so it also has 10.25 tonnes of internal fuel. J-16 being Chinese version of Su-30MKK seems to have equal internal fuel capacity.

We need to remember that this 10.25 tonnes is the "maximum' limit that any Flanker version(minus Su-34) can carry internally. Su-35S has almost 11.5 tonnes because its airbrake was removed and replaced with an 1 tonne fuel tank. So ~10.3 tonnes + 1 tonne= Near 11.3 tonnes fuel it carries internally. Hope it helped you and your confusion is clear now

Also, don't worry about Wikipedia edits as most can do it, lol.

Most people can edit tht's why it is a thing to worry
Since the 1st variants of Su-27 till today's Su-35, the airframe dimensions & volume have remained somewhat constant, but electronics & other components have become compact. But that space may have been filled up again by more RF & EO sensors, avionics, HVAC/ECS system, etc.
We don't know what the Chinese have done with J-16 since MKK.
And 1-seat Vs 2-seat further adds to number guessing.
Anyways, based on Google search, Wiki & your update, currently i'm considering the internal fuel weight of some Sukhoi derived jets as following:
Su-30MKI, 2-seat - 9.6 tons
J-16, 2-seat - 10.3 tons
Su-35, 1-seat - 11.5 tons
Su-33 (Navy), 1-seat - 9.5 tons
J-15 (Navy), 1-seat - 9.5 tons

 

[randomradio]

Well, people can visit the edit-history & see how many times the values have changed. It is very confusing for public which website to trust.
IAF doesn't seem tohave a specs page of current jets, does it?
BTW, any idea how much internal fuel J-16 would have?

MKI has 9.6T because there's a second pilot in place of a 1T tank compared to Su-27. Su-35S adds a tank in the spin in lieu of the airbrake for an additional 1T tank.

Su-30MKK/J-16 has 10.2T. They managed to put fuel in the vertical fins and enlarged one of the fuselage tanks by a few hundred kilograms. So that's 600 kg extra in total.

I had always hoped the MKI MLU will see the removal of the airbrake for an extra tank, but I don't think the IAF will go for it. The Mig-29 UPG has a CFT on the spine.

 

[Rajput Lion]

Take it for what it is:

Original Su-27 had 9.4 tonnes of internal fuel. In the Su-27M program they increased the fuel tanks to the extreme part of the wings and also put fuel tanks in the vertical tails(around 250kgs). So it had 10.25t internal fuel capacity.

As per "Andrei Fomin"(apparently he got briefed by Sukhoi themselves), MKI has around 10 tonnes of internal fuel, even if it hasn't got those tail mounted tanks. With those it will have identical fuel load as Su-30MKK(10.25T). But there are things about MKI program that are still secret after literally 2 decades post its contract signing. So

So MKI's internal fuel capacity could be anything between 9.6t to 10.25t. Take 9.6t as safe bet and leave rest to

PS: In the MLU, we could plumb few hard points to carry EFTs and thus enhance its range even further.

 

[Bhartiya Naagrik Sainik]

MKI has 9.6T because there's a second pilot in place of a 1T tank compared to Su-27. Su-35S adds a tank in the spin in lieu of the airbrake for an additional 1T tank.

Su-30MKK/J-16 has 10.2T. They managed to put fuel in the vertical fins and enlarged one of the fuselage tanks by a few hundred kilograms. So that's 600 kg extra in total.

I had always hoped the MKI MLU will see the removal of the airbrake for an extra tank, but I don't think the IAF will go for it. The Mig-29 UPG has a CFT on the spine.

+

Take it for what it is:

Original Su-27 had 9.4 tonnes of internal fuel. In the Su-27M program they increased the fuel tanks to the extreme part of the wings and also put fuel tanks in the vertical tails(around 250kgs). So it had 10.25t internal fuel capacity.

As per "Andrei Fomin"(apparently he got briefed by Sukhoi themselves), MKI has around 10 tonnes of internal fuel, even if it hasn't got those tail mounted tanks. With those it will have identical fuel load as Su-30MKK(10.25T). But there are things about MKI program that are still secret after literally 2 decades post its contract signing. So

So MKI's internal fuel capacity could be anything between 9.6t to 10.25t. Take 9.6t as safe bet and leave rest to

PS: In the MLU, we could plumb few hard points to carry EFTs and thus enhance its range even further.

Ok guys, Su-30 MKI & J-16 i'm considering 10.2 tons.
What about 1-seat Su-33 & J-15? They don't have 1 ton benefit in place of 2nd seat?

 

[Rajput Lion]

+


Ok guys, Su-30 MKI & J-16 i'm considering 10.2 tons.
What about 1-seat Su-33 & J-15? They don't have 1 ton benefit in place of 2nd seat?

If you dig down the history of Flankers then you'll notice that single seater vs dual seater never had any fuel difference. Both Su-27 and Su-30(based on trainer Su-27UB) had the exact same 9.4 tonnes internal fuel capacity. Why? That's because the fuselage area behind the second seat is raised over the single seater variant to provide better visibility to the second pilot and to keep the fuel load the same.

So Su-33 and J-15 would also fall somewhere between 9.4t - 10.25t. Btw, my guess for MKI would be around 10t. But just take 9.65t as face value and a safe bet.

 

[Bhartiya Naagrik Sainik]

face value and a safe bet.

sounds like Stock Market investment

 

[randomradio]

+


Ok guys, Su-30 MKI & J-16 i'm considering 10.2 tons.
What about 1-seat Su-33 & J-15? They don't have 1 ton benefit in place of 2nd seat?

Su-30MKI and Su-30MKK/J-16 are different. They are both made by different manufacturers; Irkut and KnAAPO/Shenyang resply.

The basic Su-27 had 9.4T, Su-27K had 9.5T, the same design was used on Su-33.

Su-30M and Su-27M (the first Su-35) came with bigger internal tanks, with Su-27M adding an extra tank followed by the second Su-35 (Su-35BM/Su-35S) adding another tank. KnAAPO's Su-30Ms kept increasing the size of their tanks and later added new tanks in the fins for export jets.

 

[Bhartiya Naagrik Sainik]

If you dig down the history of Flankers then you'll notice that single seater vs dual seater never had any fuel difference. Both Su-27 and Su-30(based on trainer Su-27UB) had the exact same 9.4 tonnes internal fuel capacity. Why? That's because the fuselage area behind the second seat is raised over the single seater variant to provide better visibility to the second pilot and to keep the fuel load the same.

So Su-33 and J-15 would also fall somewhere between 9.4t - 10.25t. Btw, my guess for MKI would be around 10t. But just take 9.65t as face value and a safe bet.

+

Su-30MKI and Su-30MKK/J-16 are different. They are both made by different manufacturers; Irkut and KnAAPO/Shenyang resply.

The basic Su-27 had 9.4T, Su-27K had 9.5T, the same design was used on Su-33.

Su-30M and Su-27M (the first Su-35) came with bigger internal tanks, with Su-27M adding an extra tank followed by the second Su-35 (Su-35BM/Su-35S) adding another tank. KnAAPO's Su-30Ms kept increasing the size of their tanks and later added new tanks in the fins for export jets.

This is what my low IQ brain could do. I took 1-seat & 2-seat versions diagrams & superimposed them.
The orange area equipment was moved to blue area or vice versa.
So Su-30MKI = 9.6 tons; J-16 = 10.2 tons; Su-33 & J-15 = 9.5 tons. Everybody agrees now?

 

[Rajput Lion]

The original Su-27 couldn't pull 9G with full fuel load. In the Su-27M program, they looked towards this issue and strengthened the fuselage and made the wings thicker. That also allowed better internal fuel volume.

All the changes/improvements of Su-27M program was implemented on MKI as well(also bettered).