Govt wants more Make in India content in India-Russia deal for Su-30 MKI fighter jets

The Indian government wants more Make in India content in the Su-30 MKI fighter jets that it will acquire from Russia.

In the ongoing negotiations for the deal to buy 12 Su-30MKI fighter jets from Russia, the government has asked the stakeholders to include more made in India parts and content in the aircrafts. Top sources told India Today that the negotiations with the Russian side in this regard are already going on and they will supply the highly advanced version of the planes to India.

The need for adding more Indian content in the India-Russia deal comes at a time when the Narendra Modi government is working towards promoting more indigenous production over imports and increasing exports to foreign countries.

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The deal for the 12 Su-30 MKI jets is critical for the Indian Air Force (IAF) so they can replace the aircrafts that they lost in accidents since the induction of the twin engines into the fleet. The IAF has put its plan to upgrade the fleet of its 85 Su-30 fighter jets on hold in view of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The IAF operates around 270 of these aircraft that have a long endurance and can fly for more than 10 hours at a stretch. There were plans to upgrade the Su-30 with the latest avionics and other electronic warfare components to bring it up to the latest standards. However, it seems the upgrade will have to wait for a long period in view of the ongoing conflict in Russia and Ukraine.

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