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Armenia has apparently armed its Russian-made Su-30SM fighter jets with guided glide bombs bought from Iran, in a bid to boost the stand off strike capabilities of its small air force.
Three of the Armenian Air Force’s four Su-30SM’s appeared armed with Yasin bombs during a flyby at the May 28 First Republic Day military parade in the capital, Yerevan. Each of the fighters carried two such bombs on the hardpoints below their engines, while the rest of the jets’ payload consisted of more typical Russian-made R-73 and R-74 air-to-air missiles, in addition to Kh-29 and Kh-31 air-to-ground missiles.
The Yasin is built around the Iranian copy of the American MK 82 unguided, low-drag general-purpose bomb equipped with a wing set and a tail control section, although it is unclear if it’s just a kit that can be fitted to any similar bomb, or a complete system.
The bomb weighs 230 kg, and is guided via a satellite-based inertial navigation system. Its range is reported to be around 60 kilometers, although some sources suggest that it could reach up to double that range depending on the speed and attitude of the carrier jet at the time of release.
While the Yasin has been spotted only on Armenia’s Su-30SM, bombs of this type can certainly be also carried by the 16 or so Soviet-made Su-25K attack jets currently in service with the country’s air force.
The Yasin boosts the stand off strike capabilities of the Armenian Air Force at a very affordable cost, with no real modification needed for existing jets to carry it.
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The purchase is the latest in efforts that began recently to boost the capabilities of the Armenian Air Force. Just last year, it was reported that Armenia is in talks in India to purchase between 8 to 12 upgraded Su-30MKI fighter jets in a deal estimated at between $2.5 and $3 billion.
These efforts are clearly meant to counter Azerbaijan’s recent acquisition of around 40 JF-17C Block-III fighter jets from Pakistan.
Armenia has been also working to improve its air defenses, and during the recent parade in Yerevan it was also unveiled that it had purchased a number of Majid short-range air defense systems from Iran. Growing military cooperation between the countries has not yet caused any issues with the United States, which is currently working to pull Armenia closer to its orbit.
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