Indian Su-30MKI: News

ricky123 wrote: it says super-su-30 will have 5th gen stuff . will it then be able to beat the other 5th gen fighters ...

ricky123 wrote:and since india is get these upgraded and other aircraft like mig21 and mirage2000 going out of service in 2017 wont there be a gap where india will have the least number of fighters ever .i mean for that much time india will be vulnerable dont u think

ricky123 wrote:pakistani jets have entered india territory quite a few times in the last few years .. and were able to go back safely .. doesnt india have a interceptor ?

TR1 wrote:That being said, there is nothing explicitly "5th-gen" about the Super Sukhoi- its just a serious all around hardware upgrade, that will greatly increase its potency vs anything in the region.

ricky123 wrote: The Rafale will be armed probably with the Taurus KEPD-350 cruise missiles

TR1 wrote:RAM treatment's have been around for a while, hardly a revolutionary "5th gen" trait.

Vladimir79 wrote:Rafale will never be armed with Taurus. It is configured for SCALP-EG,

Vladimir79 wrote:the French won't configure redundant weapons unless it is a deal breaker. Taurus is hardly that.

Sujoy wrote:

But the Taurus is being used by Germany and Spain . The Tornado and F 18 were not configured initially to carry the Taurus.

Also, as I said in my earlier post that it is a probability . As on this date the IAF has only issued an RFI for CALCMs.It remains to be seen if the Taurus will be made available with range limitations (300km) or not (600+km). Dassault stated during the MMRCA competition that the Rafale can be configured for the Taurus and the Storm Shadow.

If the French do NOT learn now they never will . Inspite of loosing innumerable contracts.
Unlike its US-based counterparts, French aerospace OEMs have, since the 1990s, failed to grasp the enormous marketing advantages offered by way of industrial synergies when it comes to export-driven marketing strategies. For instance, for marketing the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet on a global scale, OEMs like Boeing Defense & Aerospace, GE Aero Engines, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman formed an integrated consortium as far back as 2001 and to all prospective export customers, it is this unified military-industrial consortium that has given technical presentations and conducted in-country product demonstrations, and most importantly, has also successfully implemented multi-party and multi-disciplinary direct/indirect industrial offsets obligations. In stark contrast, the Rafale’s marketing campaign has been conducted to date solely by Dassault Aviation, with other French OEMs like THALES, Sagem Défense Sécurité and Snecma Moteurs being left alone to promote their sub-systems and components on board the Rafale through their own individual ways and means.

Vladimir79 wrote:
Germany and Spain don't make or use the Rafale, it is a French plane with its own local weapons.

Vladimir79 wrote:Taurus would have been a likely option if Eurofighter had won, but that is history.

Vladimir79 wrote: Rafale can be configured to carry just about anything,

Vladimir79 wrote: They are being undercut by the US at almost every turn and they could never compete with them on cost thanks to America's production of scale and options.

Vladimir79 wrote:None of Rafale's sales pitch has gone without Thales or Safran. They are part of the Rafale International team. Not only do they go in unified, they also have state backing which makes it a strategic decision to go with team France.

TR1 wrote:Wait, what? That is major news I haven't seen anywhere!

Apparently, whatever the situation, the Su-30MKI will remain the core fighter for the Indian Air Force. After President Vladimir Putin signed another major contract for supplies of the Su-30MKI to India during his visit in December 2012, the portfolio of contracted fighters was expanded to 272 machines, more than 150 of which have already been delivered to India. British Flight magazine has reported with reference to sources in the Indian manufacturing sector that India was planning to operate up to 350 fighters of this type.

http://indrus.in/world/2013/02/19/are_we_losing_out_on_the_indian_market_22359.html

Can any one identify the missile seen in the mock up on the Intakes of Su-30MKI ?

GarryB wrote:

Can any one identify the missile seen in the mock up on the Intakes of Su-30MKI ?

I suspect they are R-37M missiles... or RVV-BD... It seems to have R-77 missiles on the wingtip.. something I have not seen on other Flankers before... which suggests this might be in air to air configuration for interception duties.

In an exclusive interview with Defenseworld.net, Vitaly Borodich, senior vice-president (military aviation), IRKUT Corp talked about maintenance of Su-30MKI, its future upgrading and recent reports alleging maintenance problems in India.

Questions and Answers

Q : You have been in charge of Irkut Corporation’s combat aviation programs for many years now. From your personal perspective, what is the concept of the Su-30MKI Program?

Vitaly Borodich :

The aim of the Su-30 MKI program is not only on equipping the Indian Air Force (IAF) with state-of-the-art combat aircraft, but also on development of technological cooperation between aviation industries of Russia and India.

With the Su-30MKI Program’s implementation, both countries have been developing their own competitive advantages. Russian developments include modern technologies such as phased array radars and thrust-vectoring engines.

IAF has contributed immensely to the program by developing the ideology of a modern fighter, based on a comhensive analysis of regional conflicts.Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Information Technology industry in India have contributed to the program in a big way.

What is the main achievement of the Su-30MKI program?

Vitaly Borodich :

Su-30MKI multi-role fighters form the backbone of the IAF combat power and will retain this status in future. Once all current contracts are implemented, the IAF will have 272 Su-30MKIs. Of these, 222 aircraft will be co-produced in India with HAL as our main partner.

While implementing the Su-30MKI license production contract, HAL and other Indian companies have mastered new competences and technologies, thanks to the transfer of technology by Russia.

Most recently, India has mastered licence production to the extent that certain critical raw material are sourced locally. You could say that it is Indian industries which actually produce the aircraft now.

addition, hi-tech products of Indian origin such as on-board computers are not only installed on Su-30MKIs, but also supplied as integral parts of Su-30 family of aircraft to Air Forces of Russia, Algeria and Malaysia.

I must emphasize that designers, engineers and the air forces of our countries, have forged a unique alliance, which has become a solid base for the successful development of Su-30MKI program and a number of new bilateral projects as well.

In what way you see a further development of the Su-30MKI Program?

Vitaly Borodich :

The most important step forward in the Su-30MKI program is the deep modernization of the aircraft, which will retain the aircraft’s efficiency and superiority for decades to come. The proposed modernization includes avionics and armaments. Technologies for ‘deep modernization’ are really available and may be implemented within a short period of time.

We are considering integration of two major Indo-Russian programs – Su-30MKI and BrahMos meaning the launch of the BrahMos missile by the Su-30MKI. At this moment, their integration is in the development phase. BrahMos JV has manufactured its aviation sample. An aircraft is being redesigned to mount the BrahMos cruise missile onto its underbelly.

Q : There have been concerns in India over the Su-30 MKI’s maintenance and servicing. What is being done in order to improve the Su-30MKIs serviceability?

Vitaly Borodich :

The immediate task before us and HAL is the setting up of an overhaul facility for Su-30MKIs in India. Necessary documentation and equipment has been shipped to HAL by now. According to plans of the IAF, a certain number of aircraft have to be overhauled during this year which I believe HAL will make this happen and we are there to support its efforts.

A challenge before us is that as the number of IAF bases where the Su-30MKI is deployed increases, mastering of operational serviceability of this complex multi-role fighter on new bases is the challenge.

As of today, Indian and Russian experts are focused meeting this challenge in the shortest possible time.

We are quite ready to discuss new modes of keeping MKI’s serviceability at the desired level so that our common objective of providing to the IAF’s servicing needs is met. As the previous experience of our joint work has proved, we always manage to find out ways to improve the maintenance of aircraft and systems.

In what way has the IAF contributed to the Su-30MKI development?

Vitaly Borodich :

It should be noted that IAF pilots contribute to the fighter’s improvement by providing regular feedback on performance. As top flying aces, they are anxious to find out new ways of taking the Su-30MKI to its maximum potential.

30MKI has become a breakthrough aircraft. example, it is the first serially produced fighter with thrust vector engines which makes the aircraft super-maneuverable.ng combat pilots worldwide, it is the Indians who have mastered it.

Besides, the Su-30MKI’s on-board and radar systems can be used in automatic mode. Adaptation of the aircraft’s new features has dictated new approaches both in manufacturing, as well as in the IAF flying units.

At the moment, together with the IAF, HAL and Indian industries, we are implementing a set of measures aimed at improvement, additional flexibility and optimization of the whole system of technical maintenance and overhaul, supplying the necessary equipment to an increasing number of combat units.

We, in close cooperation with our Indian colleagues are constantly improving the on-board software. Each new version is a step towards increased efficiency of the aircraft and reliability of its systems.

Recently there have been comments in the Indian media on ‘problems in Su-30MKIs’ maintenance. Are you aware of these reports?

Vitaly Borodich :

First of all, we do understand a public concern on issues of the state’s defence matters. But in this case, the criticism about the Su-30MKI Program was not based on full and accurate data. Rather it is supposed to have come from stolen electronic documents.

The documents contained a lot of routine business correspondence between partners. However, only the negative parts within the documents have been highlighted in the mediauspect that it may be part of an operation aimed at discrediting the Su-30 MKI program. I’d better leave it to your readers’ speculations on who gains by this negative projection.

And the latest news is that not 50% of flankers of IAF are down but only 20 out of 200 i.e. a meagre 10% are suffering with some HUD problems, and as we learn in this interview, now Sukhoi/Irkut are looking to fix this problem ASAP.

GarryB wrote:

And the latest news is that not 50% of flankers of IAF are down but only 20 out of 200 i.e. a meagre 10% are suffering with some HUD problems, and as we learn in this interview, now Sukhoi/Irkut are looking to fix this problem ASAP.

I thought the HUDs on the Su-30MKIs were French?