ORAC
12th Apr 2007, 23:08
DefenseNews: India Orders New MKI Fighters From Russia
Russia will supply to India 18 multirole Su-30 MKI Flanker fighters under a $700 million contract signed by the arms-trading monopoly Rosoboronexport and the Indian Defence Ministry earlier this month, Russian news agency Interfax reported April 12......
India has a license agreement with Russia, signed in 2000, to assemble 140 Su-MKI fighters on its soil. These jets were developed to meet the Indian military’s specifications. The new deal, together with earlier sales in 1996 of 32 Su-30MKIs and 18 Su-30Ks, brings the value of the contracts with India to more than $5 billion.
Indian MoD officials in New Delhi said the government-to-government order for the aircraft was placed because Hindustan Aeronautics, the state-owned company that is assembling the Su-30 MKIs in India under the license agreement, cannot deliver enough planes to meet the military’s current needs.
The new order of Su-MKI fighters will be supplied under a trade-in scheme, with India returning to Russia 18 old Su-30K jets, Interfax reported, citing a senior Russian military diplomat. The new MKIs will be built by Irkut, he said. Irkut officials declined to comment.
Initially, Moscow planned to sell the Su-30Ks being returned by India — which have already logged 1,500 flight hours — to Belarus, said Konstantin Makiyenko, an analyst with the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies here. But the deal was disrupted after a fierce natural gas price war broke out between Moscow and Minsk this winter.
“Still, any solvent African country will gladly buy these jets for $12 [million] to $15 million apiece after they undergo modernization,” he said........
Russia will supply to India 18 multirole Su-30 MKI Flanker fighters under a $700 million contract signed by the arms-trading monopoly Rosoboronexport and the Indian Defence Ministry earlier this month, Russian news agency Interfax reported April 12......
India has a license agreement with Russia, signed in 2000, to assemble 140 Su-MKI fighters on its soil. These jets were developed to meet the Indian military’s specifications. The new deal, together with earlier sales in 1996 of 32 Su-30MKIs and 18 Su-30Ks, brings the value of the contracts with India to more than $5 billion.
Indian MoD officials in New Delhi said the government-to-government order for the aircraft was placed because Hindustan Aeronautics, the state-owned company that is assembling the Su-30 MKIs in India under the license agreement, cannot deliver enough planes to meet the military’s current needs.
The new order of Su-MKI fighters will be supplied under a trade-in scheme, with India returning to Russia 18 old Su-30K jets, Interfax reported, citing a senior Russian military diplomat. The new MKIs will be built by Irkut, he said. Irkut officials declined to comment.
Initially, Moscow planned to sell the Su-30Ks being returned by India — which have already logged 1,500 flight hours — to Belarus, said Konstantin Makiyenko, an analyst with the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies here. But the deal was disrupted after a fierce natural gas price war broke out between Moscow and Minsk this winter.
“Still, any solvent African country will gladly buy these jets for $12 [million] to $15 million apiece after they undergo modernization,” he said........