Italian F-35 fighters intercept Russian Su-30 planes, the differences between the two fighter jets

CHALLENGE IN THE SKIES

• Challenge between Italian and Russian fighters in the skies of the Baltic. Last Thursday – but the news was disclosed days later – the NATO European air defense command raised the alarm: two Russian Su-30 fighters approached, without warning, the limits of the borders with Poland. And they sped across the international waters of the Baltic Sea. The episode made them take off two F-35As of the Task Force Air-32nd Wing, of the Italian Air Force from the base in Malbork, Poland

THE SKY TG24 SPECIAL ON THE CONFLICT

FACE TO FACE AT 12 THOUSAND METERS

• The couple of F-35A of the Italian Air Force faced the unwanted threat posed by the two Russian Su-30 (in the photo, one of these aircraft) with a face-to-face encounter that occurred at 12,000 meters. The result was that Moscow’s planes returned. These are situations that have already occurred, with precedents being quite numerous

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F-35

• As regards the F-35, it must be said that the Italian Air Force has been periodically deploying these aircraft for NATO Air Policing and Air Shielding missions in Iceland and Estonia since 2019. Eurofighters are also currently engaged in the 63rd rotation of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing in Lithuania

HOW AN F-35 IS MADE

• The single-engine F-35A is a fifth generation fighter. As stated on the Defense website, it has “high capabilities of discovery, identification and precision of engagement” which give it “an absolutely significant potential which, combined with innovative communication capabilities and real-time sharing of essential information, gives the provides unparalleled theater management, making the F-35 a valuable asset that fits perfectly into the modern operational context.” The maximum speed is 1.6 Mach

DIFFERENT VERSIONS

• The F-35 aircraft currently in use by the Air Force is variant A, Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL): conventional take-off and landing version.
• Over the years, the Armed Forces will also acquire the B version, Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) already supplied to the Navy

F-35 IN ITALY

• In the photo, an F-35 model on the runway on June 17, 2023, on the occasion of the celebrations for the 100 years of the Air Force

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SU-30

• The Sukhoi Su-30, on the other hand, is generation 4.5, as various industry sites report. And it’s twin-engine. It has been online since 1996 and is used in China, India, Venezuela and Angola, among others, as reported by the site Avionews

SU-30 IN ACTION

• In photo Su-30 during a military display in St. Petersburg in 2017

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SU-30/2

• This aircraft is developed by the Russian Sukhoi Aviation Corporation and is a variant of the Su-27. It can carry up to 8,000 kg of ordnance, as reported on the site militarytoday

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SU-30/3

• It can boast great speed – reaching a maximum of Mach 2 – and agility in maneuvers. In line with this model, there are also the Su-35 and Su-37 fighterjets

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