The Su-30 MKI which is the backbone of the Indian Air Force is being manufactured in India under license at state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. In the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine situation, Rosoboronexport of Russia, within the framework of the “Make in India programme’’, is ready to supply additional completely knocked down kits for the assembly of the Su-30MKI. The Russian export agency is also ready to carry out joint work on the modernization, including the integration of the latest air weapons, avionics, etc., on the Su-30 MKI. The Su-30 MKI which is the backbone of the Indian Air Force is being manufactured in India under license at state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia’s Sukhoi and built under licence by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter. Development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets. The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was accepted into the Indian Air Force in 2002, while the first Su-30MKI assembled in India entered service with the IAF in 2004. The IAF has nearly 260 Su-30MKIs in inventory as of January 2020. The Su-30MKI is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force’s fighter fleet to 2020 and beyond.
The Su-30MKI is a highly integrated twin-finned aircraft. The airframe is constructed of titanium and high-strength aluminium alloys. The engine intake ramps and nacelles are fitted with trouser fairings to provide a continuous streamlined profile between the nacelles and the tail beams. The fins and horizontal tail consoles are attached to tail beams. The central beam section between the engine nacelles consists of the equipment compartment, fuel tank and the brake parachute container. Su-30MKI aerodynamic configuration is a longitudinal triplane with relaxed stability. The canard increases the aircraft lift ability and deflects automatically to allow high angle of attack (AoA) flights allowing it to perform Pugachev’s Cobra.
The aircraft is tailor-made for Indian specifications and integrates Indian systems and avionics as well as French and Israeli sub-systems. It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su-35 with which it shares many features and components. In addition, it has offered to carry out joint work on the modernization of the existing fleet of Su-30MKI jets including the integration of the latest air weapons, avionics, etc, a statement from Rosoboronexport (ROE), the Russian arms exporting agency said in a release. Currently, the program to build some 271 Su-30MKI in India with full technology transfer has been successfully completed. Some of the older Su030MKI jets need modernization – specifically related to engines, avionics and missiles.