IAF's Sukhoi Su-30 MKI To Get New AL-31FP Jet Engines Worth Rs 26,000 Crore

In a significant update for the Indian Air Force (IAF), its Russian-made Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets will receive 240 new AL-31FP engines worth Rs 26,000 crore.

In a PM Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting held on Monday (2 August), approval was given for these 240 jet engines. These engines will power and sustain the IAF's fleet of over 259 Su-30 MKI jets.

Ministry of Defence officials, discussing the clearance, stated, “Sukhois constitute one of the most powerful and strategically significant fleets of the IAF. The supply of these aero-engines by HAL would meet the fleet sustenance requirement to continue unhindered operations and strengthen the country’s defence preparedness.”

Typically, during the entire lifetime of a fighter jet, which spans 30 to 40 years, the engines are replaced 2 to 3 times.

These new engines will be manufactured at a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Koraput. These engines will have 54 percent indigenous content, with the rest of the components, sub-systems, and systems being imported from Russia.

Moreover, the IAF's Su-30 MKI is also undergoing an upgrade program worth Rs 63,000 crore. These upgrades include the installation of a Made-in-India active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a more capable infrared search and track sensor (IRST), and new electronics, mission computers, and components.

This comes just half a year after (February) the CCS cleared RD-33 jet engines worth Rs 5,300 crore for the 60-odd Mig-29s in the IAF inventory.

These engines, too, will be manufactured at the Koraput facility in collaboration with Russia.

According to reports, the IAF has decided to change its earlier policy of piecemeal orders, which caused the engines to cost more and have low indigenous content.

With bulk orders, not only does the cost decrease significantly compared to piecemeal orders, but it also gives HAL the opportunity to increase the Made-in-India content in the engines.