TSAMTO, February 1. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has completed the assembly of the last two of the 272 Su-30MKI multi-role fighters ordered for the Indian Air Force.
As stated by The Hindu Chairman and Managing Director HAL R.Madhavan, one of these two aircraft is already certified in the modification for the use of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, another one is manufactured and will pass certification by the end of February. The formalities are completed before the customer accepts the new machines.
Under the agreement with Russia, 272 Su-30MKI fighters were ordered for the Indian Air Force in several batches, of which 222 were assembled by HAL at the Nasik plant as part of the technology transfer agreement of 2004. Currently, 40 fighters are being modified for the use of the BrahMos missile defense system. The Indian Air Force began receiving these aircraft last year and is deploying them at Thanjavur Air Base.
The Defense Procurement Board of the Ministry of Defense of India (DAC) in July 2020 approved a proposal for the acquisition of 21 new MiG-29 aircraft, along with the modernization of 59 MiG-29s already in service and the purchase of 12 Su-30MKI aircraft. The total cost of these projects will be 181.48 billion rubles. RS. ($2.43 billion). At the same time, the purchase and modernization of the MiG-29 in Russia is estimated at 74.18 billion rubles. The Su-30MKI will be assembled under license from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under a $ 107.3 billion agreement. Rs. As for the progress in this issue, the representative of the Indian Ministry of Defense said that the Russian side, in the opinion of New Delhi, requested too high a price, negotiations (on price parameters) are continuing.
In the near future, the Su-30MKI assembly line will be largely phased out, but the major repairs department in Nasik will continue the current and major repairs of the MiG and Su-30MKI. Over the years, HAL has built a supplier base of more than 2,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Currently, HAL is increasing its capacity to overhaul the Su-30MKI from 15 to 25 aircraft per year.
Negotiations are also continuing with Russia on a major modernization program for the entire Su-30MKI fleet. Initially, it was assumed that all approved modifications would be carried out on each aircraft simultaneously, but taking into account the costs and time that would be required to modernize the entire fleet of fighters, the Air Force decided to increase their capabilities in stages. Some on-site modifications are already in progress.
