India’s eighth Sukhoi SU-30 combat jet squadron by December

[arp2041]

India will raise its eighth squadron of Sukhoi SU-30 MKI frontline combat planes in December this year and it will be based at Sirsa in Haryana, just 150 km from the border with Pakistan and which had acted as a forward airbase during the 1971 war.

This will be the third Su-30 squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be deployed close to Pakistan border in 14 months, after Jodhpur in Rajasthan in October 2011 and Halwara in Punjab on Tuesday.

“The third Sukhoi squadron close to our western frontiers will be based in Sirsa. It will be raised in December,” a senior IAF officer told IANS here.

The Sirsa squadron will also be the second unit to fly the air dominance fighters under the Delhi-based Western Air Command (WAC) that controls 16 air bases and is responsible for defending the air space over north India.

The IAF had resurrected the disbanded 220 Squadron at Halwara on Tuesday.

In August 2010, the IAF had for the first time deployed a SU-30 squadron in the northeast at Tezpur in Assam, to act as a counter to China. In March 2011, it raised another Sukhoi squadron at the Jabua airbase, also in Assam.

The original two SU-30 squadrons are based at the Lohegaon airbase near Pune, which is also the home base for these sophisticated fighters. One squadron is based at Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.

However, the IAF is far from its target to operate 17 Sukhoi squadrons by 2018, when it would have inducted 272 aircraft, making it the main combat plane for the next decade or so.

India had first signed up for Su-30s in 1997, when it bought 50 of the planes off-the-shelf from Russia. Later, it also obtained a licence for Indian public sector behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture the planes.

From the HAL stable, the IAF would, at last count, be getting 222 Su-30s. This includes the 42 planes that India signed a deal for with Russia in December 2011 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in Moscow for a bilateral summit with then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.


India’s eighth Sukhoi SU-30 combat jet squadron by December | idrw.org

eighth squadron?? does that mean 160 or so su-30s inducted till now??

 

[Paan Singh]

i think india have 200+ sukhois then why 8th?

 

[mfreak]

I think India has about 190. Guess that would include trainers.

 

[arp2041]

I think India has about 190. Guess that would include trainers.

AFAIK, every IAF squadron contains 20-21 jets, which contains 2-3 trainers & 18 fighters, so if we are talking about a squadron than it includes trainers in it.

 

[Yaduveer]

Awesome News !

I think 2-3 squadron su 30 MKI should come at Jammu and Kashmir (Awantipur and Leh airbase) due to following reasons

1. So that to keep check over both Chinese and Pakistan activity.
2. Chaklala and Risalpur,sargodha airbase of Pakistan are in proximity, besides that , Mountainous terrain inhibit Radar activity.
3. Only road link from Tibbet and xinxiang pass through aksai chin region.

Pakistan air bases ... Look how close they are from J&K.

 

[mfreak]

AFAIK, every IAF squadron contains 20-21 jets, which contains 2-3 trainers & 18 fighters, so if we are talking about a squadron than it includes trainers in it.

Then am not sure. Maybe they are lying

 

[bhisma]

Awesome News !

I think 2-3 squadron su 30 MKI should come at Jammu and Kashmir (Awantipur and Leh airbase) due to following reasons

1. So that to keep check over both Chinese and Pakistan activity.
2. Chaklala and Risalpur,sargodha airbase of Pakistan are in proximity, besides that , Mountainous terrain inhibit Radar activity.
3. Only road link from Tibbet and xinxiang pass through aksai chin region.

Pakistan air bases ... Look how close they are from J&K.

Well basing squadron of mkis in leh will be a god step but still it is very closed to china.. But the airstrip should be upgraded in order to operate any jet or aircraft when required.. By the way placing 3 squadron on pak border will strengthen our airforce..
Punjab is not very far from leh, this base will be useful at the times of any conflict with china..

AFAIK, every IAF squadron contains 20-21 jets, which contains 2-3 trainers & 18 fighters, so if we are talking about a squadron than it includes trainers in it.

I have heard somewhere that a squadron consists of 16-18 jets including trainers

 

[Bhai Zakir]

India's eighth Sukhoi SU-30 combat jet squadron by December

After Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Halwara in Punjab it will be 3rd Sukhoi SU-30 MKI squadron near pak border.

Lahore, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Multan etc. are all under 300 kms of Sirsa Airbase.

l

I have heard somewhere that a squadron consists of 16-18 jets including trainers

This depends upon the type of the fighter jet it varies.

 

[arp2041]

I have heard somewhere that a squadron consists of 16-18 jets including trainers

IAF to have 42 combat aircraft squadrons | India - Oneindia News

 

[tvsram1992]

when Pakistan has many airbases close to India , we too can have it

 

[INDIAISM]

AFAIK, every IAF squadron contains 20-21 jets, which contains 2-3 trainers & 18 fighters, so if we are talking about a squadron than it includes trainers in it.

Buddy you need 2-3 trainer aircrafts in squadron when rest of the aircrafts in the squadron are single seat....but here you are talking about Su30Mki and all of them are twin seat....

Btw i don't understand how IAF will have 17 Squadron of Su 30Mki with 270 Su30Mki...

 

[Abingdonboy]

So is Pune the only base that houses more than 1 MKI SQD?

 

[SpArK]

when Pakistan has many airbases close to India , we too can have it

We dont need to.. Most of their cities ( more than 95%) are just a stone throw away from our border..

Most are closer than ..say between Jaipur and Delhi .. while most of towns are far faar away.. So we can afford to have airbases wherever we want.

 

[mfreak]

More number of bases probably also means, spreading forces too thin. And it is also more targets. Just saying.

 

[Bhai Zakir]

So is Pune the only base that houses more than 1 MKI SQD?

At present, yes.