Ministry of Defence signs contract to procure 12 Sukhoi jets

The Ministry of Defence on Thursday signed a contract to procure 12 additional Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.

The IAF has some 260 Sukhoi-30MKIs, Russian-origin planes, in its fleet.

The contract to procure these 12 jets and the associated equipment has been signed between the Ministry of Defence and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a public sector undertaking. It will cost Rs 13,500 crore.

Over the years, HAL has licensed-produced a large part of these jets for the IAF fleet.

The Ministry of Defence said the aircraft would have an indigenous content of 62.6 per cent. Several parts of the plane are made in India and others are sourced from Russia.

These 12 aircraft would be manufactured at Nasik division of HAL. The supply of these aircraft would enhance operational capability of the IAF and strengthen defence preparedness of the country, the MoD said.

The IAF faces a threat of dwindling number of fighter jets squadrons. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh had clarified in October, “Our aim is not to let aircraft strength remain below 30 (squadrons).”

Each squadron has 16-18 jets. The Cabinet Committee of Security lays down the need for 42 fighter jet squadrons to tackle a simultaneous two-front threat from China and Pakistan. The IAF currently has 31 squadrons.

The IAF has placed an order with HAL for making 83 Tejas Mark-1A jets. Deliveries were to start in March this year, but so far not a single plane has been delivered. 

India intends to produce around 500 fighter jets on its own over the next two decades.

India’s plan over the next two decades includes making 180 Tejas Mark-1A, followed by 108 Tejas Mark-2 jets, followed by 126 of the advanced medium combat aircraft, besides 100 jets for the Indian Navy called the twin-engine deck-based fighters.

Over the next one year, two squadrons of the Soviet-era MiG 21 fighter jets will retire from the IAF. The Jaguar, MiG-29 and Mirage 2000, jet fleets -- all inducted in phases during the 1980s – are slated to retire in batches beyond 2029-30. These four types of jets are about 250 in number and are currently operating on an extended life cycle.