Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab/Russian Ministry of Defense)
One of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Su-34 fighter-bombers has been observed with a new dorsal antenna hump fitted aft of the cockpit.
The feature appeared in video footage released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on June 8. Israeli defense analyst Guy Plopsky noted the upgrade, pointing out on X that a Su-34 equipped with a similar antenna appeared first in a photo published by the Russian AviamiR34 Telegram channel last May.
The location on which the antenna was installed is typically used for satellite communication antennas, data-link equipment, or electronic warfare systems that require an unobstructed sky-facing aperture.
When the first photo of the upgrade emerged, Plopsky suggested that the fighter bomber could be either a Su-34M or a new variant known as the Su-34 NVO (Навигация и Внешнее Оборудование — Navigation and External Equipment).
Click to see full-size image. (Telegram/AviamiR34)
The Su-34, manufactured by the United Aircraft Corporation at the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association Plant, has a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 at altitude and a combat radius of 1,100 kilometers with a standard 12,000 kg weapons load.
It was designed primarily for tactical deployment against ground and naval targets on solo and group missions in daytime and at night, under favorable and adverse weather conditions and in a hostile environment with air defense and electronic warfare deployed, as well as for aerial reconnaissance.
The fighter bomber can deploy a wide range of precision-guided munitions, including glide bombs, land-attack cruise missiles, anti-radar missiles and anti-ship missiles.
As Plopsky suggested, the antenna installed on some Su-34s lately is most likely some brand-new military satellite communications system.
Such systems provide warplanes with continuous, beyond-line-of-sight connectivity, overcoming distance and terrain limits. It is essential for transmitting real-time intelligence, ensuring military-grade secure communications, and executing multi-domain combat operations where traditional radio signals cannot reach.
If this is indeed the case, the system would enhance the reconnaissance capabilities of the Su-34, and even provide it with some command and control capabilities.
More than 120 Su-34s are believed to be currently in service with the VKS. At least two dozen are from the latest M version.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
i russi non capiscono che c’è più di un modo per vincere una guerra.