A ₹13,500 crore ($1.5 billion) contract for procurement of 12 Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft along with associated equipment was signed between Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on 12 December 2024. The aircraft would have an indigenous content of 62.6 percent. The percentage has got enhanced due to indigenisation of many components to be manufactured by Indian defence industry. In a major boost to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ self-reliance initiative, the announcement comes close on the heels of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Moscow, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials to further strengthen defence ties between the two countries.
These aircraft would be manufactured at Nasik division of HAL. The supply of these aircraft would enhance operational capability of Indian Air Force (IAF) and strengthen defence preparedness of the country, the MoD press release said.
The IAF operates a fleet of 260 Su-30s, and the 12 additional fighters have been contracted to make up for planes lost in accidents. The additional Su-30MKIs will incorporate some Super Sukhoi features. The sanctioned strength of the Su-30 fleet is 272 aircraft but only 259 are in service.
HAL Nashik Division
HAL is placed 41st and beats Rafael, Hyundai in the world’s top defence firm rankings. HAL has also obtained several multimillion-dollar contracts from leading international aerospace firms such as Airbus, Boeing and Honeywell to manufacture aircraft spare parts and engines. In October 2024, HAL was given Maharatna status, which allows the company to have more operational and financial autonomy.
The aircraft manufacturing division at Nashik was set up in 1964, with support of Soviet Union as part of the MiG Complex. The other two divisions being at Koraput, Orissa, for aero-engines and Hyderabad for avionics. Nashik is the second largest HAL division after Bengaluru. The plant is located at Ozar, 20 km northeast from the Nashik city centre. IAF’s No. 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD) is co-located. The BRD overhauls various MiG aircraft variants.
The Nasik Division built the MiG-21s, MiG-27s, and Su-30MKI, and upgraded the MiG-21 ‘Bison’. It carries out repairs and overhauls of many Russian fighter aircraft. It now has an LCA Mk1A line.
Additional Aero-engines Contract
In September, the MoD had signed a ₹26,000-crore ($3.05 billion) contract with HAL for 240 AL-31FP aero-engines for the IAF’s Su-30 fleet. HAL will supply 30 engines annually from Koraput factory. These deliveries are expected to be completed in eight years. Additional aero-engines are required because they have much lower service life than the airframe, and also a few are lost due to failures.
The engines are being built from the raw material stage with technology transfer from Russia, and only some spares, forgings and castings are expected to be imported. By the time the deliveries are completed, the engines will have an indigenous content of up to 63 percent.
Su-30MKI
The India-specific variant of the Russian Su-30, the Su-30MKI was inducted into the IAF in 2002. The twin-engine, air-superiority, multi-role, heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter aircraft has a take-off weight of 38,800 kilograms and a payload capacity of over 8 tons, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, and anti-ship missiles. The aircraft can carry 10 × Astra Mk1 class missiles. It is powered by two Lyulka-Saturn AL-31FP turbofan engines.
The current forward-facing NIIP N011M Bars (Panther) is a powerful digital multi-mode dual frequency band integrated passive electronically scanned array radar. N011M has a 400 km search range and a maximum 200 km tracking range. OLS-30 laser-optical infra-red search and track (IRST) includes a day and night FLIR capability and is used in conjunction with the helmet mounted sighting system. It has a range of 30 km.
The Su-30MKI has a range of 3,000 km with internal fuel which ensures a 3.75 hour combat mission. Also, it has an in-flight refuelling (IFR) probe that retracts. The air refuelling system increases the flight duration up to 10 hours with a combat radius of 3,000 km. Su-30MKIs can also use the Cobham 754 buddy refuelling pods.
The aircraft features state-of-the-art avionics developed by Russia, India and Israel for display, navigation, targeting and electronic warfare. France and South Africa provided other avionics. It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su-35 with which it shares many features and components. Russia’s Defence Ministry was impressed with the type’s performance envelope and ordered 30 Su-30SMs, a localised Su-30MKI, for the Russian Air Force.
222 aircraft were produced under license at HAL Nashik since 2004. Indigenisation was progressively increased with Indian content. HAL produced aircraft from scratch from 2013 onwards. An estimated 920 AL-31FP turbofans were manufactured at HAL’s Koraput Division. The Su-30MKI will be the backbone of the IAF’s fighter fleet for some years to come.
Su-30MKI Upgrade
The initial plans, around 2010, were to upgrade the Su-30MKI to “Super Sukhoi” standards with Russians. After India’s indigenous capabilities increased, it was decided to do it in-house. The jets got the first phase Super Sukhoi upgrade with the addition of the Astra (missile), a 110 km range BVR missile more capable than the R-77. In September 2019, the Astra went through multiple user-trials by IAF to validate its lethality for the Su-30MKI. India also started to replace the Russian-made fly-by-wire system with an Indian-made Flight Control System and even adopted a new digital RWR (Radar Warning Receiver).
In February 2017, it was reported that the planes would be upgraded with AL-41F turbofan engines, the same as the ones on the Sukhoi Su-35. But it has now been decided to retain the existing engines. On 2 September, CCS approved the purchase of 240 AL-31FP engines for ₹26,000 crore (US$3.1 billion). The engines will be manufactured in HAL’s Engine Division Koraput and will have an indigenous content of 54 percent. The contract was signed officially on 9 September 2024. The first engine was delivered on 01 October 2024 while all the engines will be delivered within 8 years at a production rate of 30 units per year.
Early 2024, the ₹65,000 crore ($7.6 billion) upgrade for 84 Su-30MKIs was approved by the government to be done indigenously by HAL. The project is divided into two phases, focusing initially on installing new avionics and radars, followed by enhancements to the flight control systems. Aircraft will get new electronic warfare suites, weapon control systems, avionics and new weapons. The new Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) active electronically scanned array (AESA) “Virupaakhsha” radar (enhanced variant of Uttam AESA Radar) will increase the detection range by 1.5 to 1.7 times making the jets capable to operate long range weapons like Astra Mk III.
Electronic warfare capabilities of Sukhoi-30MKI would be enhanced by indigenous DARE’s High Band Jammer Pod (HBT), Dhruti Radar Warning System, and a Dual Colour Missile Approach Warning System. Bharat Electronics and HAL are co-developing a long range dual band IRST for Su-30MKI. This will replace the current OLS-30.
In May 2024, DRDO’s Combat Aircraft Systems Development & Integration Centre (CASDIC) released an Expression of Interest (EoI) to collaborate with a Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP) to develop an indigenous electronic warfare suite. The allocated timeframe for design and development (D&D) is 32 months. On 3 December 2024, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the procurement of electronic warfare suite (EWS) comprising external airborne self protection jammer pods, next generation radar warning receiver and associated equipment.
IIT Bombay has been engaged in the development of artificial intelligence-based engine and asset maintenance solutions for spares, inventory and combat potential optimisation. This will replace the current electronic maintenance management system. The jets will also be modified to fire BrahMos-ER missiles. The total project will take 15 years, which includes seven years of development and flight testing, and the remaining for upgrade and induction of 84 jets.
As of November 2024, the financial aspects of the upgrade programme are being assessed. This will be followed by CCS clearance (expected early 2025) and initiation of upgrade process. Sukhoi will also be involved in the project for the upgrade of fly-by-wire system.
The upgrade is to be carried out by HAL with the support of DRDO and several private companies. Overall, 51 systems are to be upgraded including 30 by HAL, 13 by DRDO and 8 by private sector companies. The Indian indigenous content shall be increased gradually to 78 percent. The upgrade is to allow the fighter to remain in service for another 30 years.
Indigenisation Thrust
The Indian government’s policy of boosting defence production as part of the drive towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat is increasingly reflected in the rising orders to the local defence equipment manufacturing companies and underlines a positive outlook for the sector ahead. Last year, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by HAL to produce the advanced GE 414 aero-engines for LCA Mk2, with USA’s General Electric Company.
Historically, India has been a major importer of foreign military hardware with around 65–70 percent of imported defence equipment. Driven by Modi government’s self-reliance push, India’s defence production has shot up to an unprecedented ₹1.27 lakh crore ($15 billion) in FY 2023-24, an impressive increase of approximately 174 percent from ₹46,429 crore ($5.4 billion) in 2014-15. The landscape is changing rapidly. More than 5,000 positive indigenisation list items which include major platforms such as ships, helicopters, vehicles, radars, and strategically important Line Replacement Units (LRUs), systems, sub-systems, assemblies, sub-assemblies, spares, components, and raw materials, that cannot be imported.
Other Su-30 Related Indigenisation
In 2004, India reportedly signed a deal with Russia to domestically produce the Novator K-100 missile, designed to shoot down airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) and C4ISTAR aircraft, for the Su-30MKI, however the project did not proceed.
In 2008, Samtel-HAL Display Systems (SHDS), a joint venture between Samtel Display Systems and HAL, won a contract to develop and manufacture multi-function avionics displays for the MKI. A helmet mounted display, Topsight-I, based on technology from Thales and developed by SHDS will be integrated on the Su-30MKI in the next upgrade.
The BrahMos air-to-ground missile (AGM) has been integrated on the Su-30MKI giving it capability to attack ground targets from stand-off ranges of around 300 km. The first air launch from a Su-30MKI was successfully carried out on 22 November 2017. Although not initially designed to carry nuclear or strategic weapons, India has considered integrating an air-launched version of the nuclear-capable Nirbhay.
Indian Private Sector Becoming Big in Aerospace
The Tata consortium is building 40 EADS CASA C-295 MW aircraft and significant numbers of its sub-systems in India at a plant in Baroda, Gujarat. Tatas are making the AH-64 Apache combat helicopter fuselage, aero-structures for Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook helicopters. All C-130Js delivered to customers around the world have major aero-structure components from India producing 24 C-130 empennages annually. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, also relies on Hyderabad-based TASL as the manufacturing base for its global supply of cabin for the S-92 helicopter. Tata group is working with GE to manufacture CFM International LEAP engine components in India. Lockheed Martin selected TASL to produce F-16 wings in India.
There are many private companies making defence electronics, large aero-components, advanced technology components and sub-systems. Dynamatic Technologies makes assemblies of vertical fins for Sukhoi 30MKI fighters. They are also supplying aero-structures to Airbus for its A320 family of aircraft and the wide-body A330 aircraft. Hyderabad’s VEM Technologies manufactures centre fuselage for LCA Tejas. The Adani group is making Hermes UAVs in India. There are over a 100 drone start-ups. Many Indian MSMEs and start-ups are entering defence component production.
To Summarise
Su-30MKI upgrade is a very important project for India. It involves the largest fighter fleet of the IAF and will greatly enhance its combat capability and see it through for a few more decades. Su-30MKI has scored well in most air combat exercises against Western fighters such as F-15C and Typhoon Eurofighter.
India is already making many aero-structures and systems of Western aircraft for global customers. There have been reports that negotiations are on between HAL and Russia for exporting Indian-produced Russia-supported Su-30MKIs to global customers. Also Russia needs to circumvent American economic sanctions. More Russian companies are wanting to set up production facilities in India.
India is still dependent on significant (40 percent) import content for the Su-30MKI production and upgrade. Significant components of aero-engine will continue to be imported for some time. Also India does not make ejection seats. Technology transfers in the real sense are still not taking place. But India is on the right track. India is gradually becoming independent on radars and weapons. Import substitution is being pushed hard.
Note: The article was originally written by the Author for The EurAsian Times on, December 20th, 2024, it has since been updated.
Header Picture Credit: Author
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