'Super Sukhoi' Purchase Likely During Putin's India Visit

[RISING SUN]

Order Summary
Total Order: 272
Initial Purchase (1996 and 1998) from Russia: 50
Follow-up order on Russia in 2007: 40
Initial order on HAL: 140
Additional order for Super 30 variant: 42

Su-30MKI Deployment in IAF
The IAF will eventually be equipped with 15 Su-30MKI squadrons.

 

[RISING SUN]

As in February 2012, seven Su-30MKI squadrons have been raised - two in Lohegaon in Pune (20, 30), one in Jodhpur (31), two in Bareilly (8, 24), and one each in Tezpur (2) and Chabua (102).

Two Su-30MKI squadrons are planned to be deployed in Jodhpur under SWAC, by 2013.

N011M BARS Radar
The Bars radar fitted on the Su-30MKI is a hybrid radar that fits between a PESA and contemporary AESA radar. It features a detection range of 76 nm (50 nm form the rear hemisphere). It has 0.9m diameter antenna The phased array can electronically steer the mainlobe through +/-70 degrees in azimuth and +/-40 degrees in elevation. The whole array can be further steered mechanically. Polarisation can be switched by 90 degrees for surface search modes.

The radar can simultaneously track both air and ground targets and engage 4 to 8 targets.

Indigenization
The Su-30MKI is being manufactured from raw materials in India and its engine is being locally produced.

 

[RISING SUN]

Su-30MKI modernization
Super 30 Variant
The 'Super' variant of the Su-30MKI will feature an AESA, be capable of carrying the Brahmos missile and feature a radar, onboard computer and EWS to launch the airborne version of the Brahmos, and later the strategic subsonic Nirbhay cruise missile with a range of 1,000 km.

Brahmos Missile
The air launched version of Brahmos weighs 2.5 tons and there is some doubt the Su-30 Super 30 will be able to land back with the missile safely. Aircrew may be instructed to drop the weapon before landing, if it is not launched in flight.

AESA Radar
India and Russia have reached an agreement for the eventual upgrade of the BARS N011M radar to AESA, but no contract has yet been signed.

An enlarged version of the Phazotron Zhuk-AE radar fitted on the MiG-35D prototype fielded for the MMRCA competition is likely to be fitted to the Super 30, but Irkut could also go for Tikhomirov’s NIIP AESA shown at MAKS-2011.

During MMRCA trials the Zhuk-MA AESA radar demonstrated significant capabilities, including ground-mapping modes and the ability to detect, track and shoot at aerial targets. During demonstration flights, a MiG-35D destroyed an aerial drone with an air-to-air missile launched by an Indian pilot.

Radar Upgrade
The Bars phased-array radar of the aircraft will be upgraded in two phases. In the first phase, advanced operating modes will be introduced based on computer and other hardware upgrades.

In the second phase, the passive array will be replaced with a AESA.

The upgrades are to be carried out jointly by Russia, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Defence Research and Development Organisation.

 

[RISING SUN]

India Today reported in its June, 2010 issue that the project to modernize the initial batch of Su-30s delivered to India by Russia has been finalized.

The aircraft are due for major overhaul and Russia has proposed incorporation of the latest technologies during the major overhaul.

Defence Ministry sources told Economic Times on July 4, 2010:

"As part of IAF's modernisation programme, we are going to upgrade 50 Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft with help of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) from Russia.

"Su-30 MKIs have been inducted into the IAF in four phases. The ones to be upgraded are from the first phase and the project is likely to be completed in the next three to four years," they added.

Of the 50 aircraft, around five would be sent to the Russian facilities while the remaining would undergo upgrading within India, they said.

"The airframe of these aircraft would also be strengthened to equip them with air-launched version of the 290 km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile," the sources said.

The SU-30s were inducted into the IAF in late 90s and at present six squadrons of the aircraft are in service.
Here is the link
IAF to upgrade SU-30 fighter aircraft - Economic Times

Major source of information
http://idp.justthe80.com/air-force-projects/fighters/su-30mki-acquisition-and-upgrade#TOC-AESA-Radar

 

[RISING SUN]

DRDO has got two Su-30MKI aircraft from the IAF which has come with all modifications. Integration of the aircraft avionics with the missile on-board equipment are being carried out using the Sukhoi test rig at IAF's Software Development Institute in Bangalore. This will further undergo rigorous checks during the captive flight trials planned in mid-2012 for qualifying the electronic integrity in flight using a metric missile.
So Astra is separate from Super Sukhoi package.

 

[illusion8]

The aircraft would virtually be an insurance policy against aerial threats from such aircraft as the J-10s and the F-16s.

Defence ties have clearly been the engine of India-Russia bilateral relationship for over half a century now. The same engine is set to be roaring once again when Russian President Vladimir Putin undertakes a visit to India this month-end. The two countries are going to sign numerous agreements – at least half a dozen, according to knowledgeable sources – and one of these is going to be a $3.77 billion deal for the supply of 40 SU-30MKI Russian fighter aircraft to India.

The new Super Sukhois deal is going to be on the front burner when the India, Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation meets in New Delhi next week. The ultimate goal of the two defence ministers at the two-day meeting later this week would be to thrash out a text of which even a comma or a full stop does not have to be changed and the two ministers sign the deal in the presence of Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their delegation-level talks in New Delhi on November 1. This is going to be a major mission objective of the Indiana and Russian defence ministers in the coming days.

The deal for the fighter aircraft under the MMRCA programme is all set to be sewn up when Putin is meets his Indian interlocutors at the highest level on November 1 in New Delhi’s Hyderabad House. The fighter aircraft in question are described as the ‘Super Sukhois’. The adjective “super” given to these aircraft is because these aircraft have stealth features, a new cockpit, state-of-the-art radar and features which will enable each aircraft to carry such heavier weapons load as the air-launched version of the jointly developed Indo-Russian BrahMos cruise missile. The first delivery of this much-improved fighter aircraft is expected during 2014-15.

he Russian-supplied MiG21s have so far served as the backbone of the Indian Air Force. This is set to change once the Super Sukhois’ supply from Russia starts trickling in. The Mig21s are an ageing lot and India is set to phase out as many as 120 of them within the next couple of years. The delivery of the Super Sukhois will increase the Indian fleet of Sukhoi’s to 270 aircraft, an impressive figure for any air force in the world.

The Master Move

India has first begun buying off-the-shelf Su-30s from Russia in 1997. But, in 2000, began developing Sukhoi Su-30MKIs at home after Hindustan Aeronautics Limited began production under license from Sukhoi Design Bureau. The Su-30MKI has considerable Indian components in it.

The urgency for signing a new deal for 40 Super Sukois emanates from the fact that the proposed deal for 126 MMRCA aircraft is getting delayed to an unnerving extent by the Indian parameters and the Indians are still far from a stage where they sign the contract with France's Dassault. The Russian Super Sukhois, therefore, is an immediately doable thing which would also send a signal to the international community. In fact, major global arms manufacturers companies like Dassault would be handed out a stern message if India were to sign the new deal for the Super Sukhois with the Russians, as per the Indian strategic thinking.

Moreover, the Super Sukhois fit the bill perfectly for the Indians because the IAF is already flying the Sukhoi and its personnel are absolutely comfortable with the Russian aircraft. Also, it would be a master move by the Indian strategic establishment, not unlike a game of billiards where one hits the blue ball to actually net the red ball. The signal to Dassault would be unmistakable: sign on the dotted line, or else…

Dassault CEO Charles Edelstenne has already showcased Rafale’s 100 percent made-in-France tag as a trump card to win the MMRCA order from the Indians. He has already dangled a carrot before the Indians that Dassault would keep all its high-end technologies, jobs and value-addition within India and deliver as per India's needs and demands, but clearly the Indians are gunning for more. Indubitably, the new Super Sukhois deal will prove to be a major tactic for the Indians for bringing Dassault on the same page.

What Super Sukhois Will Do?

The Super Sukhois would be a game changer for the Indian skies. The aircraft would virtually be an insurance policy against the aerial threats from China and Pakistan from such aircraft as the J-10s and the F-16s respectively. China and Pakistan and are not unmindful of this as the IAF has already started deployment of the Sukois at the forward bases near their borders. Quite recently, India has replaced its ageing fleet of MiG 23s with a squadron of SU-30MKIs on a forward base near the India-Pakistan border.

The Indians have been flying the Sukhois from 1997 onwards when India first procured its first off-the-shelf SU-30s from Russia and gradually developed Sukhoi Su-30MKIs at home after Hindustan Aeronautics Limited began production under license from the Sukhoi Design Bureau. The Indians are, as said earlier, quite comfortable with the aircraft which has a considerable share of Indian components in it.

The new deal for Super Sukhois is an idea whose time has come now.

 

[mfreak]

EVerything is always due, or in the pipeline. Pffft. IAF TO HAVE this. IAF TO HAVE that. But at that moment IAF has nothing

 

[illusion8]

EVerything is always due, or in the pipeline. Pffft. IAF TO HAVE this. IAF TO HAVE that. But at that moment IAF has nothing

Dude the deals are worth billions - run a check of similar deals and how long it took other countries to finalize them and get the deliveries., For e.g. Check out Brazil's fighter tender.

 

[mfreak]

Yeah well am just saying. Ive never heard of India do things fast EVER like China for example. Its an India feature

 

[Abingdonboy]

Yeah well am just saying. Ive never heard of India do things fast EVER like China for example. Its an India feature

That is one of the downsides to being a democracy, in a command economy like China you may not be free but the govt makes descions lightening quick but that doesn't mean these descions will be benifical or designed to be benefical to the people.

EVerything is always due, or in the pipeline. Pffft. IAF TO HAVE this. IAF TO HAVE that. But at that moment IAF has nothing

How do you think these things work? Every nation works like this. If you're going to spend billions then a lot of work has to go on behind the scenes.

 

[arp2041]

^^^ But if we look towards the world history, than every successful superpower has been a democracy (Britain, US) & the ones who have wanted to become a superpower or were a superpower on the basis of a command economy din't thrived too long (Nazi Germany, USSR)

 

[Foo_Fighter]

^^^ But if we look towards the world history, than every successful superpower has been a democracy (Britain, US) & the ones who have wanted to become a superpower or were a superpower on the basis of a command economy din't thrived too long (Nazi Germany, USSR)

Though I do want to agree with you, but that would be too short sighted.... Let it grow... there must be something good now and someting better, lets just not judge on best... let's not be judgmental what I all say...may be wrong we percieve now might be right tomorrow... its our opinion....

 

[Kinetic]

What we need for Super Sukhoi are....

1) Very powerful AESA radar
2) Longer range and payload.
3) Next generation of EW
4) Astra and Meteor missiles