On September 21, at the airfield of Irkutsk Aviation Plant – branch of JSC IRKUT Corporation (a part of United Aircraft Corporation) Su-30SM fighter, developed by JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau and designed for the Russian Ministry of Defence, performed its maiden flight.

The aircraft was piloted by JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau' test-pilots:

- Crew commander Sergey Kostin – 1st class test-pilot;

- Navigator Pavel Malovechko – honored test-navigator of the RF.

The flight lasted 2 hours and passed flawlessly.

Su-30SM multirole fighter is the further development of the Su-30MK combat aircraft family. JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau' specialists designed the fighter in accordance with the requirements of the Russian Air Force in terms of radar system, radio and recognition system, ejection seats and a number of support systems. The weaponry configuration was changed as well.

The contract on 30 multirole fighters' delivery by 2015 was signed between the Russian Ministry of Defence and JSC IRKUT Corporation in March 2012.

At the contract signing Anatoly Serdyukov, the Russian Defence Minister, noted that the upcoming entry of the modern two-seat supermanoeuverable aircraft into the Russian Armed Forces significantly increases the combat power of the Russian Air Force. Moreover, technical capabilities of the fighter allow achieving a higher level of pilot's training, which is especially important due to the increasing procurement of new generation combat aircraft.