As Sukhoi-30MKI production nears end, HAL worries about future

Its Nashik production line, which builds 12 Su-30MKIs per year, might fall idle by March 31, 2020

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s (HAL’s) most lucrative cash cow, the Sukhoi-30 MKI, is running dry. With only 35 Su-30 MKI fighters left to deliver to the Indian Air Force (IAF) out of the 222 that HAL has been contracted to build, its Nashik production line, which builds 12 Su-30 MKIs per year, would fall idle by March 31, 2020.

In better days, HAL enjoyed order book backlogs of Rs 150,000-200,000 crore ($23.4-31.2 billion), with assured orders for Jaguar fighters, Hawk advanced jet trainers, Dhruv advanced light helicopters (ALHs), Tejas light combat aircraft and, most profitably, the Su-30 MKI. 

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