At the end of the existence of the USSR, the state defense order was sharply reduced, the existence of design bureaus and factories of the domestic military-industrial complex was in doubt. Only export contracts saved the situation, but the market required multipurpose aircraft capable of hitting both air and ground (surface) targets. Our aircraft designers returned to the development of a multi-purpose modification of the Su-27, called the Su-30 MKI. This is the first Russian military aircraft, designed specifically for the requirements of a foreign customer, with the widespread use of on-board electronic equipment of foreign design and manufacture. The new book by Mikhail Nikolsky is a detailed story about the development, construction and combat use of the Su-30 MKI, which has become the personification of the quality of the Russian aircraft industry.