Bangladesh, March 3 -- In the early 2000s, the Indian Air Force (IAF) acquired the Su-30MKI, a heavily customized export version of the advanced Russian Su-30 (itself a modernized iteration of the legendary Su-27). This “Flanker” variant is one of the most popular and heavily exported Russian weapon systems, gaining traction in 15 other countries, namely Algeria (Su-30MKA), Angola (Su-30K), Ethiopia (Su-30K), Uganda (Su-30MK2), Armenia (Su-30SM), Belarus (Su-30SM and Su-30SM2), Kazakhstan (Su-30SM), Mongolia (Su-30SM), India (Su-30MKI), Indonesia (Su-30MK2), Malaysia (Su-30MKM), Myanmar (Su-30SME), Vietnam (Su-30MK2V), Venezuela (Su-30MK2 AMV) and China (Su-30MK2 and Su-30MKK).

The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) operate three...