Su-30MKK -colored Su-30MKK/MK2 China's military modernization that started in the late-
Cold War became more urgent after the
Gulf War of the early-1990s. The war demonstrated that China's modernization goals were inadequate; in 1993, the
Central Military Commission issued new Military Strategic Guidelines that represented a "wholesale reevaluation" of China's military strategy. One goal was to acquire long-range
precision-guided strike capability to enhance
defence in depth and support offensive operations. China began receiving
Sukhoi Su-27SK fighters from Russia in 1992. By the mid-1990s, China wanted an improved Su-27 with strike capabilities. In 1996, Russia agreed to sell 40
multirole combat aircraft to China for . The contract details for the Su-30MKK were finalized at the 1998
China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition after technical negotiations, and a contract for 38 aircraft was signed in 1999. The Su-30MK was chosen as the basis for the Su-30MKK, and development started in 1998. The
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAPO) - which had worked on Chinese contracts - was chosen as the manufacturer and did most of the design work. The first prototype Su-30 was converted into the a demonstrator in 1999 and first flew in that form in March 1999. The first prototype was converted from an ex-
Russian Air Force Su-27UB trainer that had been extensively damaged in a ground fire; it first flew as a Su-30MKK in May 1999. The second prototype was a new build and completed in the summer of 1999. Trials were largely complete by the end of 2000. Deliveries began to the
People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLANAF) in December 2000.
Su-30MK2 The Su-30MK2 was developed from a 2002 Chinese request for a Su-30MKK with anti-ship capabilities. Avionics changes integrated the
Kh-31A anti-ship missile (AShM). Russia agreed to sell the aircraft to China in August 2003. KnAAPO began deliveries to the
People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force in February 2004. Russia, Venezuela and Vietnam adopted variants of the Su-30MK2 in the 2000-2010s. The
Russian Air Force (VVS) variant is the Su-30M2; it was procured to sustain domestic industry and was less advanced than the Su-30SM. ==Design==