IRKUTSK, February 8. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry will receive 14 Su-30SM fighter jets and ten Yak-130 jet trainers in 2018, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Thursday.

"This year’s production program includes only 24 planes: ten Yak-130 planes, 12 Su-30SM jets for the Russian aerospace forces and two for the navy," he said.

"As for Yak-130 planes, ninety-two are already operating. We have plans to buy more. We will discuss a long-term contract. We plan to sign it this year," he said, adding that a big contract for Su-30SM planes will be signed under the state armaments program.

The Su-30SME (Flanker-H) multipurpose fighter jet is designed both to gain air supremacy and attack ground-based and surface targets. The fighter jet has canards and swiveling-nozzle engines for thrust vector control, which makes it supermaneuverable. The Su-30SM fighter jet is equipped with the Bars multipurpose fire control radar. The fighter jet’s armament suite comprises a wide range of munitions, including air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface precision-guided weapons. The Su-30SM plane can be used to train pilots to operate perspective single-seat fighter jets. The production of the Su-30SM fighter jet for the Russian Air Force began in 2012.

The Yak-130 is a two-seat jet fighter jet of the new generation used to train pilots and perform combat all-weather missions at air and ground-based targets. The plane’s flight characteristics and maneuverability are similar to those of modern fighter jets at subsonic flight speed, which makes it possible to use such planes to train pilots for 4+ and 5the generation aircraft.