India, Russia sign SU-30 deal

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, DEC.28. India and Russia today signed their biggest yet defence deal for licensed production of the SU-30MKI fighter jets, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The deal, worth over $3 billion, was signed at the SU manufacturing IAPO plant in Irkutsk, Siberia, by a high-level Indian delegation led by the Additional Secretary of Defence (Production), Mr. Dhirendra Singh, and the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Chairman, Mr. Krishna Das Nair. It provides for the production of 140 SU-30MKI long-range multi-role jets at the HAL over the next 17 years. The in-depth licence envisions full transfer of the SU-30MKI technology, including the world's first thrust-vectoring engine.

Russian defence industry sources said SU-30MKI technology transfer was manifestation of close strategic partnership between India and Russia. Although Moscow has also proclaimed strategic partnership with Beijing, it has not granted China licence for the production of SU-30 jets, confining itself to the sale of 60 planes, the sources said. Moreover, Russia has refused to equip the China-bound planes with an advanced radar for ground-attack capability.

Initially the more sophisticated high-tech components of the SU- 30MKI are also expected to be supplied to the HAL from Russia, a defence expert said. It is hard to estimate the share of Russian- supplied components for the SU-30MKI, said Mr. Konstantin Makienko of the Centre for Strategic Analysis. But they are likely to include the Al-31PF engine, Russian-made avionics and some parts of the fuselage that require high-tech processing.

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