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Context:

Having taken delivery of all Su-30MKI fighter aircraft and the deal for contracting 12 more Su-30s meant to replace those lost over the years deferred against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is working to speed up the long-delayed upgrade of these frontline fighters.

Details:

• The IAF is looking to add new weapons, avionics and sensors and engines on the Su-30MKIs to keep them contemporary for the next few decades.
• India had procured 272 Su-30s from Russia, a majority of which were assembled by HAL and around 11 jets were lost.
• The IAF has 12 Su-30 squadrons in service, and 40-50 aircraft are at HAL for overhaul repairs.
• The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a multirole combat fighter aircraft jointly developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• Based on the Su-30 fighter aircraft, Su-30MKI is equipped with thrust vectoring control and canards.
• The development of the Su-30MKI for the IAF began in 1995.
• Sukhoi and Irkutsk Aircraft Production Association (now known as Irkut Corporation) were initially responsible for the development and production of the aircraft respectively.
• Sukhoi built two prototypes of the Su-30MKI between 1995 and 1998. The first prototype, Su-30I-1, made its first flight in July 1997. Production began at the Irkutsk plant in 2000. The first pre-production aircraft completed its maiden flight in November 2000.
• India signed a MoU with Russia in October 2000, to start the licence production of Su-30MKIs at HAL’s plant.
• A new squadron, known as the 222 Squadron (Tigersharks) was stood up at the IAF’s Thanjavur airbase in the southern part of India. The fighter jets of the new squadron can carry BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.
• India achieved indigenously overhauling capability of the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet.
• The IAF received the first domestically overhauled Su-30MKI in October 2018.
• The aircraft has a length of 21.9m, wingspan of 14.7m and a height of 6.4m. The maximum take-off weight of Su-30MKI is 38,800kg.
• The tandem glass cockpit of the Su-30MKI accommodates two pilots.
• The Su-30MKI is also equipped with a N011M passive electronically scanned array radar, OLS-30 laser-optical locator system and Litening target designation pod to guide air-to-surface missile and laser guided munitions.
• The aircraft can launch a range of air-to-surface missiles, including Kh-29L/T/TYe, Kh-31A/P, Kh-59M and Nirbhay.
• The Su-30MKI fleet of IAF was fitted with air-launched version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and was successfully tested in November 2017.
• The power plant, equipped with thrust vector control, provides a maximum speed of Mach 1.9 in horizontal flight and a rate of climb of 300m/s.
• The aircraft has a maximum unrefuelled flight range of 3,000km. The in-flight refuelling system of Su-30MKI provides a maximum range of 8,000km with two refuellings.

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