A VPK Sukhoi is to complete flight tests of the Su-30MKI using three aircraft by the end of this month, and will deliver the first batch of five fighters to the Indian air force by the end of the year. They will be the world's first thrust-vectoring-equipped supersonic fighters to enter service.
Russia and India signed deals for the aircraft in 1996 and 2000, and New Delhi will take delivery of 32 Su-30MKIs by the end of 2003. Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) will start to assemble 140 airframes locally in 2004.
The first batch will probably include the Su-30MKI prototype, converted from a standard Su-30 by Sukhoi's experimental aircraft facility in Moscow, while the other aircraft will be delivered from the IAPO factory in Irkutsk. IAPO has completed two production aircraft, of which the second was ferried to Gromov's flight test centre in Zhukovsky near Moscow, Russia, in March.
The Su-30MKI is equipped with the NIIPN011M multimode radar with phased-array antenna, enabling multi-target engagement with Vympel R-77/RVV-AE (AA-12 Adder) and R-27ER (AA-10Alamo) beyond-visual-range and short-range R-73 (AA-11 Archer) air-to-air missiles.
Ramenskoye-based RPKB has integrated the avionics suite, which includes Thales Avionics multifunction displays, with other equipment from Thales and Sagem in France, and various Indian suppliers. Israel's Elop supplied the head-up display.
Source: Flight International
