Not as good as the F-15?

The National Intertest
Date: June 16, 2020
By: Kris Osborn

Chinese Su-30 fighters entered the Soutwestern airspace of Taiwan in early June as part of a rather transparent, deliberate warning to the U.S. and Taiwan that China was ready to attack if needed. The flights, as described in a report from the Global Times, were sent as a message following continued military-to-military cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan, U.S. transport aircraft flights over Taiwan and the passage of a U.S. Destroyer through the Taiwan Straits. 

The People’s Liberation Army Su-30 fighter jets flew over Taiwan just one day after a U.S. military aircraft flew over the island to, as Chinese officials reportedly told the Global Times, “counter the provocative move by the U.S. military aircraft.” 

The Su-30s are Russian-built fighters in service with the PLA since the early 2000s, it’s described as having long-endurance, advanced passive electronically-scanned array radar systems, infrared search and track, a reconnaissance pod, targeting sensors and medium-range air-to-air-missiles. Interestingly, some have likened the Su-30 to the U.S, F-15, despite the fact that the Su-30 emerged roughly 15 years later. Despite its 1980s origins, there are many reasons why today’s upgraded F-15 may in fact be equivalent if not superior to the more modern Su-30s. While the original F-15 airframe may have emerged from the 1980s, the 2020 U.S. F-15 is essentially an entirely new airplane. 

The Air Force currently operates roughly 400 F-15C, D and E variants—and plans to keep the aircraft flying into the 2040s. In recent years, the F-15 has been in the process of receiving new weapons, electronic warfare systems, infrared search and track, radar and high-speed computing technology to massively improve the performance characteristics of the aircraft. Upgraded F-15 are in the process of operating with Active Electronically Scanned Array radar and an electronic warfare system called EPAWSS, the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System.     [FULL  STORY]