Alexander Velovich/Moscow
INDIA AND RUSSIA are on the brink of a deal covering the sale of up to 40 Sukhoi Su-30MK multi-role fighter aircraft.
The Indian defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadam is quoted in Russian press reports as saying that negotiations to buy the Su-30MK "-are approaching the final stage".
The Indian air force would probably use the Su-30MK as the core of its long-range strike capability. The aircraft could supplant the Mikoyan MiG-27 Flogger in the nuclear-strike role. The exact configuration of the Su-30MK on offer is not known. There have been suggestions from Russia that a canard-configured variant of the Su-30 being manufactured at the Irkutsk production siteis the "MK" intended for the Indian air force. Some claim that the bulk of the funding for the construction of this aircraft has been provided by India.
Indian air force officials have also held discussions with radar design bureau NIIP about the possibility of integrating the N-011 phased array radar on the Su-30.
India wants Russia to transfer technology for the Su-30MK and to organise joint production of the aircraft. The latter would suggest that the first 40 aircraft will form only the initial batch, with additional licence-built aircraft to also be procured.
Deliveries of the basic Su-30, optimised for the air-defence role, have begun to trickle into the Russian air defence force.
The impending Indian order comes at a critical time for the Irkutsk plant, which is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.
A substantial production order for the Su-30MK will provide it with a life-line.
Source: Flight International
