In the 1990s, the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) identified a requirement for a long-range heavy fighter. On August 27th 1999, Russia and China signed an agreement for the supply of a specially developed version of the Su-30MK, the Su-30MKK, tailored to Chinese specifications.

The aircraft’s fixed armament consists of a single GSh-30-1 30 mm cannon with 150 rounds of ammunition. Its external payload includes a wide array of munitions, including the R-73E, RVV-AE, PL-8 and PL-12 missiles for air-to-air combat and precision-guided bombs such as the KAB-500Kr-M and KAB-1500Kr, laser/TV-guided missiles like the Kh-29L/TD, and the new Kh-59ME subsonic cruise missile for strikes against ground and naval targets. The arsenal also includes unguided rockets in several variants (S-250, S-13OF, S-8KO), free-fall bombs (FAB-1500M-54, FAB-500M-62, FAB-500Sh, FAB-250-270, OFAB-250Sh, FAB-100), and ZB-500 incendiary bombs. Additionally, the aircraft is equipped with 96 large caliber countermeasures.