Any extra range requirements in flight can be covered by air to air refueling.

Maximum takeoff weight has been raised to 34.5 tonnes, and the fuel capacity was increased to more than 11.5 tonnes (11%) or up to 14.5 tonnes with external drop tanks. The airframe has seen an increase in titanium-alloy use which has extended the life of the airframe to 6,000 service hours or 30 years. Decrease in stabilizer height, smaller hump aft of the cockpit and a shorter tail sting round out the notable aerodynamic improvements to the SU-35 ++. You can see this in action when the SU-35 slows rapidly into it’s maneuvers. On the SU-35 ++ the dorsal airbrake was also removed in favor of differential deflection of the stabilizers. This allowed for the canards to be removed as the center of gravity sifted more towards the rear of the aircraft. One of the biggest leaps on the SU-35 originally, was the creation of lighter components. But that’s where any real similarities end. On the outside, the SU-35 ++ looks virtually identical to the SU-35 +.

Japan is in the mix with talk of a fifth or sixth-gen fighter in development as well. The PAK-FA is just having too many problems and China’s J-20 is reported to be a solid stealth offering so Russia will have some serious competition. Given it’s advanced tech and as previously mentioned, it’s well proven airframe, I think this would be the obvious choice personally. It was ported from the SU-35 + which was ported from the SU-35 which was originally ported from the SU-27 back around the start of the 90’s. Until more recently, nobody knew what the actual SU-35 ++ looked like. When you add that to it’s already superior maneuverability it becomes an instantly more appealing prospect.

Fsx level d 767 prime