Indian Air Force Very Likely To Order 40 More Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Jets From HAL As Jaguar Engine Upgrade Plan Dies

The Indian Air Force has made it one of its top priorities to acquire 40 additional Sukhoi Su-30 MKI jets from state run defence manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The IAF has also nearly finalised an order for eight Sukhois as a replacement for the jets which have been lost over the years in accidents, Livefist has reported.

As per the report, back in February HAL had made this offer to supply 40 additional jets which is now being seriously considered by both the IAF and the government.

If this additional order comes through, HAL’s license to build these Russian Sukhois (which is expected to expire this year) would need to be extended. The decks for the same have already been cleared by the government.

What is now working in favour of this deal is the IAF’s decision to scrap the engine upgrade of its Jaguar aircraft to extend their flight life to 2030s after engine manufacturer Honeywell’s quoted price of $2.4 billion was deemed too high.

IAF had initially planned to retire 40 of its 120 Jaguars by the mid 2020s and upgrade the engines of the remaining 80 jets to increase their life by 10 years.