India Inducts Su-30MKIs Into Service

By Prasun K. Sengupta

Indias first 10 Sukhoi Su-30MKIs are the worlds first operational fourth-plus generation, supermanoeuvrable MRCAs.

n the presence of Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes the Indian Air Force (IAF) on September 27 inducted the first 10 Sukhoi Su-30MKI multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) into

service, becoming the worlds first air force to operate a fourth-plus generation, supermanoeuvrable MRCA.This now allows us to realise Indias security requirements or rules of

The IAFs Su-30MKIs were supplied in CKD condition and arrived in Pune on board An-124 transports between July and August this year.

The Su-30MKIs are being supplied with a range of Zvezda-Strela-built air-to-surface precisionguided munitions, as well as Vympel-built R-27R and R-77 air combat missiles.

engagement in a much more optimal manner, said the IAFs Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy.In terms of sophistication, I believe, ours are better, he maintained, when asked to compare the Su30MKI with the Su-30MKK variant acquired by China.The accuracy of the weapons delivery system is phenomenal. The aircraft is very special. No other country has such a formidable air dominance aircraft, he added. Fernandes, being more direct in his praise for Russia, said: The journey for the Su-30MKIs induction was long. Sustained harassment of people associated with its development was carried out. Questions were raised about its appropriateness, cost, types of weaponry and even service life. I want to state without hesitation that the acquisition of this MRCA is because of our close ties with Russia. No country has been able to match Russias edge in critical areas related to Indias security . When the Su-30K was called into the IAF in 1996, India was oblivious to what had transpired in the previous three years. There was no Air Staff requirement (ASR) for such a class of multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA), as the IAFs then Chief of the Air Staff had dismissed the Su-30K as irrelevant to the IAF. ACM S K Kaul had also criticised Russia for failing to provide critical product support for the IAFs existing MiG-21bis, MiG-23BN/MF, MiG-25R and MiG-27M combat aircraft. But six months later, he reversed his opinion and the Government of India, without even signing a contract, paid an advance of Rs5 billion to Russias Rosvoorouzhenie (now Rosoboronexport), the Sukhoi Design Bureau and the Irkutsk Aircraft Production Corporation (IRKUT) for developing MRCA that did not exist. After the initial order for 40 Su-30MKIs, followed by another 10, India in October 2000 signed a Letter of Intent to produce, under licence, another 140 aircraft of the same make. The TEMPUR

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In all India will take delivery of 190 Su-30MKIs between 2002 and 2017. intention, though ambitious, was initially fraught with risks and uncertainties much more serious than the ones that went with the decision to acquire the Su-30MKI in the first place. The first eight Su-30s arrived in 1997, but were non-operational in the absence of any matching air combat weapons. Further, the Russians had dumped used support equipment as new. Only two years later did the Su-30 acquire its primary profile as the Su-30K. The first deliveries of Su-30Ks arrived in CKD kits at the IAFs Lohegoan Air Force Station in Pune in March 1997, where they were assembled and were formally inducted into the IAFs No24 Hunting Hawks Squadron on June 11, 1997 by the then Indian Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral. Rosoboronexport, as per contract, was supposed to deliver a batch of eight Su-30Ks in 1998. However, delivery was postponed because only in March 1998 did the IAF specify the requirements for the advanced cockpit avionics, mission sensors and navigation-attack system (of Indian, Israeli and French origin) and signed the agreements with the respective companies. November 1999 saw the delivery of all 10 aircraft, which was originally destined for Indonesia, to the IAF. The first technology demonstrator of the intermediate versionSu-30MKwith stateof-the-art aerodynamics, was test-flown in Bangalore in 1998, but later, on June 12, 1999 crashed at the Le Bourget Paris Air Show. In December 1999, the IAF took delivery of another 10 Su-30Ks that were ordered in 1998, and which were originally meant for Indonesia. The delivery schedule of the final version, Su-30MKI, is indeed very complicated, given the rush of conversions and fitting avionics, mission sensors and weapons from French, Indian, Israeli and Russian companies. The best-case scenario of the 50 Su30MKIs becoming operational is 2003. In February 2001 at the Aero India 2001 aerospace exhibition in Bangalore, Russia presented in Bangalore its first pre-production Su-30MKI model, No 05/1907. The aircraft was built by IRKUT under a delivery contract worth $1.6 billion signed on November 30, 1996. Compared

with the first two Su-30MK technology demonstrators No 01 (crashed in Le Bourget in June 1999) and No 06, aircraft No 05 featured an IAF-specified avionics package that included Russian, French, Indian and Israeli equipment. The aircraft #05/1907, which flew for the

first time on November 26, 2000, corresponded in full to the Su-30MKI configuration to be handed over to the IAF in the first delivery batch of 10 Su30MKIs in February 2002. The second Su-30MKI technology demonstrator took to the air on February 15, 2001, and the third one in April 2001. The fourth aircraft serves to replace the one (No 01) which crashed in Le Bourget. Thus, a total of five aircraft, one fully-equipped prototype

The Su-30MKIs AMLCD displays plus some primary cockpit instrumentation have been supplied by Thales Avionics.

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will be successively upgraded to the MKI variant, completely conforming to the third phase of aircraft deliveries beginning in 2003. The Su-30MKIs will be fitted with the LITENING lowlevel navigation/laser designation pod built by Israels RAFAEL Armament Authority for guiding the optronic POPEYE air-tosurface missile and laserThe Su-30MKIs are each powered by twin NPO Saturn-built AL-31FP guided weapons. The turbofans fitted with thrust vectoring nozzles. heart of the Su-30MKIs cutting-edge navigationaircraft (No 06 built at the Sukhoi Design and-attack system, however, is Indias own range Bureaus experimental plant in 1998) and four of core mission computers, display processors and technology demonstrators, took part in the Suradar programmable signal processors, which 30MKI flight test programme since 1997. On have been developed by the State-owned December 28, 2001, the first series production SuDefence Research & Development Organisation 30MKI model, intended for delivery to the IAF, under Project Vetrivel. In related developments, the IAF has made its last test flight at IRKUTs airfield. On revealed its plans to add more punch to its December 28, 2000 a contract was signed in strike force with new inductions and selective Irkutsk regarding the licensed-production of 140 upgrades. The IAF will also raise a Tiger Force Su-140MKIs by Indias State-owned Hindustan for guarding its principal air bases, forward Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Indian base supply units and ground-based airspace government has earmarked Rs200 billion ($4.16 surveillance assets. The IAF will receive six IL-78 billion) for the project. HAL will produce 12 Suaerial refuelling aircraft currently being 30MKIs every year between 2004-2017. The assembled in Uzbekistan by the Tashkent amortised per unit cost of the Su-30MKI will be a Aircraft Production Corporation. The first IL-78, staggering Rs1.61 billion. The life-cycle cost of a powered by Perm PS-90A2 turbofans, is Su-30MKI is likely to shoot up to Rs4.5 billion. expected next January and will be based in Before 2004 the IAF will take delivery of 32 SuAgra. At the same time, the in-flight refuelling 30MKIs in three batches: 10, 12 and 10 aircraft. capability of the IAFs Jaguar Internationals, The earlier delivered 18 Su-30Ks (the first eight Su-30MKIs and Mirage-2000Hs is being according to the 1996 contract and further 10 activated. from the option for an additional 20 Su-30Ks)

The Su-30MKIs principal PGM will be RAFAELs Popeye missile (top), its all-weather nav-attack system will include RAFAELs Litening navigation-targeting pod (above), while the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile (left) will be employed for over-the-horizon maritime strike.

The Su-30MKIs principal EW system will be ELTA of Israels EL/M-8222 jamming pod.

(Note: Readers can obtain additional details on the Su-30MKK, Su-30MKI and Su-30MKM variants in the July 2002 issue of TEMPUR from pages 60 to 64) TEMPUR

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