India urgently needs to add 50 more Su-30 MKI multi-role aircraft to its inventory to secure the East-West airspace along the borders with China and Pakistan, the Chief of the Air Staff of the National Air Force, Air Marshal P. Naik. He justified the necessityť of the new machines by the Air Force's role in India's major geopolitical interests in the operational zone from the Straits of Hormuz to the Gulf of Malaya.
The Times of India reports that the Su-30 MKIs must complement the current 105 combat-capable aircraft of this type. India has in the past acquired 230 Russian aircraft in 3 blocks in total. 8.5 billion dollars. HAL has been ordered by the government to complete the licensed production of 140 Su-30 MKIs by 2015, literally "at any cost".
These aircraft, together with the Agni-3 ballistic missiles (range 3 500 km) and the Agni-4 missiles under development (note, together with the leased Nerpa nuclear submarine), form the basis of India's strategic deterrence.
vpk.name
The Times of India reports that the Su-30 MKIs must complement the current 105 combat-capable aircraft of this type. India has in the past acquired 230 Russian aircraft in 3 blocks in total. 8.5 billion dollars. HAL has been ordered by the government to complete the licensed production of 140 Su-30 MKIs by 2015, literally "at any cost".
These aircraft, together with the Agni-3 ballistic missiles (range 3 500 km) and the Agni-4 missiles under development (note, together with the leased Nerpa nuclear submarine), form the basis of India's strategic deterrence.
vpk.name