Indian and Russian authorities are negotiating the revival of production of the 4+ generation Su-30MKI multirole fighter in India and its export to foreign buyers, according to the Eurasian Times.
The Su-30MKI (NATO codename: Flanker-H) is a twin-engine, multirole air superiority fighter. In addition to India, various versions of the Su-30 are operated by China, Algeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Uganda, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Restarting production lines will help India increase its arms exports, utilizing existing capabilities.
According to the publication, during his visit to Moscow, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to work on joint production and technology transfer.
It is possible that in the absence of new orders, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) assembly line for the production of Sukhoi aircraft will be closed, and the repair unit will continue to modernize MiG and Su-30MKI series fighters.
A large-scale modernization of the entire fleet of Su-30 aircraft of the Israeli Air Force is also underway. It is likely that the aircraft will fly in the Israeli Air Force until 2050-60. This is the only Israeli Air Force fighter capable of carrying BrahMos missiles. The new electronic warfare suite has added more teeth to the aircraft.
Indian engineers continue to work on increasing the level of localization of the aircraft. The Indian Gas Turbine Research Institute has modernized the AL-31F engines of the Su-30MKI aircraft, increasing its service life by another 1500 flight hours.
It is expected that the latest batch of 12 Su-30MKIs, which the Indian Air Force will receive, will be the most advanced. They will be equipped with the latest Indian weapons systems and radars.
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