India’s Su-30MKI upgrade is hampered by sanctions against Russia
India’s upgrade of a portion of its Su-30 fleet is on hold because of Russian actions in Ukraine. (Gordon Arthur)
India's armed forces are heavily reliant on Russia for equipment, but the latter's invasion of Ukraine is having knock-on effects for India's Su-30 fighters.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been forced to defer an upgrade of a large number of its Russian-origin Su-30MKI multirole fighters to the ‘Super Sukhoi’ standard due to sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Senior industry officials said the proposed retrofit of 85 of around 260 licence-built Su-30MKIs had included replacing the fighter’s digital multimode dual-frequency NIIP N011M Bars radar with an AESA one.
The work was to have been jointly executed by India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation.
Announced by former ACM R.K.S Bhaduria in 2019, the upgrade also involved fitting
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
Read this Article
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 2 free stories per week
- Daily news round-up email service
- Access to all Decisive Edge email newsletters
Unlimited Access
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
- Unlimited access to all published premium news
More from Air Warfare
-
![India officially welcomed as an observer on Eurodrone programme]()
India officially welcomed as an observer on Eurodrone programme
The four-nation medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) uncrewed aerial system (UAS) programme includes France, Germany, Italy and Spain. India’s acceptance as an observer is the second addition to the programme, following Japan in 2023.
-
![Lockheed wins $8.7 million contract for Singapore F-16 upgrades]()
Lockheed wins $8.7 million contract for Singapore F-16 upgrades
The contract modification announced by the DSCA, will cover consolidated spares in support of Singapore’s F-16 upgrade programme.
-
![US Air Force pushes back T-7A production to 2026]()
US Air Force pushes back T-7A production to 2026
The US Air Force (USAF) and Boeing have agreed to adjust parts of the T-&A Red Hawk acquisition, with four more test T-7As being acquired to help improve manufacturing readiness and boost testing capacity.
