Su-30 Scheduled To Be Inducted Into Iaf Soon

The Russian-made Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft, which will be formally inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a few weeks' time, has been successfully test flown from the Lohegaon air force base in Pune, defence sources said yesterday.

These deep-penetration, long-range Sukhoi-30 `K' series fighters began arriving from Russia in a knocked-down condition in March this year as part of the Rs 6,330-crore deal with India. The test flights were carried out by Russian pilots.

The jets were assembled by Russian technicians and IAF engineers at Lohegaon, which has been home for the Russian-made MIG-29 squadron, named black archers, for some time. India has so far received eight of the 40 Su-30 jets, for which the contract was signed in November last year. Delivery of the rest of the aircraft would be spread over the next four years.

 

After the delivery of the Su-30 `K' series, the multi-role versions of this warplane, namely, `MK-I', `MK-II' and `MK-III', fitted with advanced avionics and armaments, will start arriving, sources said.

India has the option to manufacture the Sukhois under license after the delivery of the contracted jets. Sources said the initial batch of eight Su-30s would be upgraded later with more advanced avionics to give the jets multi-role capability.

Su-30s, which can fly at `Mach two' or twice the speed of sound, can carry up to eight tonnes of weaponry and remain airborne for nearly 10 hours.

It has a extended range of over 5,000 km after one mid-air refuelling.

With two pilots at the cockpit, the Su-30 is capable of delivering radar-guided missiles, television homing missiles and precision-guided bombs.