IAF deploys Sukhoi fighter jet to locate YSR's chopper

Ramping up the frantic search for missing helicopter of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy, the IAF today deployed a Sukhoi fighter jet with on-board radar for high resolution ground mapping to locate it.

"The IAF has pressed into service a Su-30MKI fighter aircraft with synthetic aperture radar for high-resolution ground mapping to locate the missing helicopter of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister," an IAF officer said here.

The Su-30MKI air superiority fighter jet will be supported in the search operation by an air-to-air refueller so that fuel could be transferred to the aircraft while flying.

The air-to-air refuelling will help the Sukhoi to continue its search for longer hours as the aircraft is capable of operating day and night.

The fighter jet has flown out of its base in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh and will be provided fuel during flight, if required, by IL-78s that will fly out from Agra, he said.

The Sukhoi deployment came within hours of the IAF launching four military helicopters to locate the Bell-430 VVIP chopper, which went missing after taking off from Hyderabad in the morning.