Sioux 30MKI

Su-30MKI is currently the most massive and main type of combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The Indians purchased from Russia and licensed a total of 272 Su-30MKIs.

September will mark 18 years since the Indian Air Force adopted the first Su-30MKI fighters. At that time, the Su-30MKI became the most massive and main type of Indian combat aircraft and, despite the purchase of other fighters (LCA Tejas, Dassault Rafale), will retain this status for at least another ten years. The licensed purchase and production program for the Su-30MKI has strengthened India's military-industrial cooperation with Russia and has benefited both the Indian and Russian aviation industries.

In the mid-80s, in the Design Bureau. P. O. Sukhoya (Experimental Design Bureau [OKB] P. O. Sukhoi) began designing a two-seat combat version of the then Soviet Su-27 fighter, intended for aviation of the National Air Defense Forces (Air Defense). The second crew member was supposed to perform the functions of a navigator and an operator of the weapons system, and if necessary (for example, during long flights) he could also pilot the aircraft, thus replacing the first pilot. Since the network of ground-based fighter guidance points in the northern regions of the Soviet Union was very rare, in addition to the main function of a long-range interceptor, the new aircraft also had to serve as an air traffic control (PU) point for single-landing Su-27 fighters. To do this, it had to be equipped with a tactical data exchange line, through which information about detected air targets was to be transmitted simultaneously to up to four Su-27 fighters (hence the factory designation of the new aircraft 10-4PU).

Su-30K (SB010) from No. 24 Squadron Hawks during Cope India exercise in 2004. In 1996 and 1998, the Indians purchased 18 Su-30Ks. The aircraft were taken out of service in 2006 and replaced the following year by 16 Su-30MKIs.

The basis for the new fighter, first unofficially designated as the Su-27PU, and then the Su-30 (T-10PU; NATO code: Flanker-C), was the two-seat combat trainer version of the Su-27UB. Two prototypes (demonstrators) of the Su-27PU were built in 1987–1988. at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAZ) by modifying the fifth and sixth Su-27UB prototypes (T-10U-5 and T-10U-6). ; after modification of T-10PU-5 and T-10PU-6; side numbers 05 and 06). The first took off at the end of 1988, and the second - at the beginning of 1989. Compared to serial single-seat Su-27 aircraft, to increase the flight range, they were equipped with a retractable refueling bed (on the left side of the front of the fuselage), a new navigation system, a module data exchange and upgraded guidance and weapon control systems. The H001 Sword radar and the Saturn AL-31F engines (maximum thrust 76,2 kN without afterburner and 122,6 kN with afterburner) remained the same as on the Su-27.

Subsequently, the Irkutsk Aviation Production Association (Irkutsk Aviation Production Association, IAPO; the name IAP was assigned on April 21, 1989) built two pre-production Su-30s (tail numbers 596 and 597). The first of them took off on April 14, 1992. Both of them went to the Flight Research Institute. M. M. Gromova (Lotno-Research Institute named after M. M. Gromova, LII) in Zhukovsky near Moscow and in August were first presented to the public at the Mosaeroshow-92 exhibitions. In 1993-1996, IAPO produced six serial Su-30s (tail numbers 50, 51, 52, 53, 54 and 56). Five of them (except copy No. 56) were included in the equipment of the 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (54. Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, GIAP) from the 148th Center for Combat Use and Training of Flight Personnel (148. Center for Combat Use and Training of Flight Personnel flight c) CBP and PLS) air defense aviation in Savasleyk.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation opened up more to the world and international cooperation, including in the field of armaments. Due to the radical reduction in defense spending, Russian aviation at that time did not order more Su-30s. Thus, the aircraft was approved for sale abroad. Cars No. 56 and 596, respectively, in March and September 1993, were placed at the disposal of the Sukhodzha Design Bureau. After the modification, they served as demonstrators for the export version of the Su-30K (Kommercheky; T-10PK), which differed from the Russian Su-30 mainly in equipment and armament. The latter, with the new tail number 603, was already presented in 1994 at the FIDAE air shows and exhibitions in Santiago de Chile, the ILA in Berlin and the Farnborough International Air Show. Two years later he reappeared in Berlin and Farnborough, and in 1998 in Chile. As expected, the Su-30K attracted considerable interest from foreign observers, analysts and potential users.

Indian contracts

The first country that expressed a desire to buy the Su-30K was India. Initially, the Indians planned to buy 20 copies in Russia and licensed production of 60 copies in India. Intergovernmental Russian-Indian talks began in April 1994 during the visit of a Russian delegation to Delhi and continued for more than two years. During them, it was decided that these would be aircraft in an improved and modernized version of the Su-30MK (modernized commercial; T-10PMK). In July 1995, the Indian Parliament approved the government's plan to purchase Russian aircraft. Finally, on November 30, 1996, in Irkutsk, representatives of the Indian Ministry of Defense and the Russian state holding Rosvooruzhenie (later Rosoboronexport) signed contract No. RW / 535611031077 worth $ 1,462 billion for the production and supply of 40 aircraft, including eight Su-30K and 32 Su- 30MK.

If the Su-30K differed from the Russian Su-30 only in some elements of the avionics and were interpreted by the Indians as transitional vehicles, then the Su-30MK - in its final form was designated as the Su-30MKI (Indian; NATO code: Flanker -H) - they have a modified airframe , power plant and avionics, a much wider range of weapons. These are fully multipurpose 4+ generation combat aircraft capable of performing a wide range of air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-water missions.

According to the contract, eight Su-30Ks, conditionally designated as Su-30MK-I (in this case, it is the Roman numeral 1, not the letter I), were to be delivered in April-May 1997 and used mainly for training crews and personnel technical service. The following year, the first batch of eight Su-30MKs (Su-30MK-IIs), still incomplete but equipped with French and Israeli avionics, was to be delivered. In 1999, a second batch of 12 Su-30MKs (Su-30MK-IIIs) were to be delivered, with a revised airframe with a forward tail unit. The third batch of 12 Su-30MKs (Su-30MK-IVs) was to be delivered in 2000. In addition to the fins, these aircraft were to have AL-31FP engines with moving nozzles, i.e. to represent the final production MKI standard. In the future, it was planned to upgrade the Su-30MK-II and III aircraft to IV standard (MKI).