One of the stars of the Singapore Airshow 2018 flying display was the two-seater twin-engine Sukhoi Su-30MKM, which is a variant of the Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter designed and built specifically for the the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
The thrust vectoring capability of this aircraft allows it to perform incredible aerobatics, including the famous ‘Cobra’ maneuver.
Thrust vectoring involves controlling the alignment of the engine nozzles to direct thrust up or down as a means of controlling the attitude or angular velocity of the aircraft. This allows for maneuverability that isn’t possible by relying on the aerodynamic control surfaces alone.
