First Batch Of Sukhoi-30 Aircraft Arrives

The first batch of three Russian-made Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft has reached India and another five jets are expected by the end of the month, sources said yesterday.

The 40 planes (two squadrons) being bought by India at a cost of Rs 6,330 crore were most likely to form part of the south-western air command. The Russian-made Mig-29 fighters are expected to move out of their base in south-western sector to make way for the Su-30s.

The deep penetration, long-range supersonic warplanes, which have come in knocked down form, will be assembled by Russian engineers and technicians.

The jets will be test flown by Russian pilots within six to eight weeks. The assembling of the planes will be done at an air force base in Pune.

 

The first batch of eight jets will be from the Sukhoi-30 `K' (fighter) series. The rest of 32 planes will consist of the more advanced versions with the state-of-the-art avionics and weapon systems called Sukhoi 30 MK-I, Su 30 MK-II and SU-30 MK-III.

A team of 80 Indian fighter pilots, engineers and ground staff, currently being trained on the Su-30, will return by the first half of May and will be in a position to fly and maintain the jets, the sources said.After delivery of the 40 jets by the year 2001, the aircraft is likely to be manufactured in the country.

Prime Minster H D Deve Gowda is expected to witness the first test flight of the Su-30 around the end of April or in early May.

The contract signed between the defence ministry and the Russian arms monolith `Rosvoo-zoushenie' and the Irkutsk Aviation Industrial Association in November last year, provides for licence production of the Su-30 in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

The contract envisages transfer of technology and joint development of avionics and aircraft systems by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in India and the Russian firms.

On the purchase of advanced jet trainers (AJT) for stage-III training of pilots, the sources said that IAF has shortlisted the British-made `Hawk' and the French-made `Alpha Jet'. Negotiations are on. They said that the Russian-made Mig-AT, which was still on the drawing board, is out of the race.

Once the price for the AJT is decided as per India's terms, a deal could be struck in the next three to four months the sources said.

The Su-30 has an ability for upgradation and changing of qualitative profile of the plane. With a very high combat adaptability, the aircraft has an endurance of over 10 hours.

The two-seater jet can fly at twice the speed of sound (Mach 2). Weighing 24 tonnes, it can carry up to eight tonnes of warhead. The combat range of the warplane is around 3,200 km. With one mid-air refueling, the range can be extended by another 2,000 km.

The Su-30 found favour with the IAF and former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao gave the go ahead. An initial signing amount of Rs 500 crore was paid to Russia in April last year.

The United Front (UF) government, however, decided to examine the deal and the cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) finally cleared the contract in November. Russia has also begun upgrading the Mig-21 `BIS' fighters of the IAF with latest avionics and weapon systems. Two such aircraft are already in Russia for upgradation and rest of the warplanes would be upgraded in the next few years.