Growing defence ties between India and Russia have led to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics clinching a deal to supply components for export versions of the Sukhoi Su-30MK fighter.
HAL, which already has a contract to licence-produce the Su-30MKI multirole fighter for India, has signed an agreement with Russia's Irkut to supply airframe components for aircraft ordered by its home air force, export buyers Algeria and Malaysia, and any future customers for the aircraft.
Financial details of the arrangement have not been revealed, but United Aircraft (OAK) president Alexei Fedorov told Indian journalists: "We had to cross several bureaucratic barriers over the years before this landmark deal could be finalised."
Collaboration on the Su-30MKI programme was also the basis for a recent Indo-Russian co-operation agreement in the development of a fifth-generation fighter, he adds. The countries aim to have a prototype of the aircraft - intended to rival the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter - flying by 2012.
Russia's RSK MiG is also angling for a fresh contract with India, with its MiG-35 considered a leading contender in an air force tender for 126 medium multirole combat aircraft. The company faces competition from the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-16 and Saab Gripen for the $12 billion deal to replace the Indian air force's MiG-21s.
Source: Flight International
