At a glance: Sukhoi-30 MKI ,India's frontline combat aircraft

New Delhi: India has a vast landscape and to protect its territory Indian Air Force has inducted Sukhoi-30 MKI as the premiere fighter airplane. It is a stealth aircraft which can deceive the enemy's radar and can hit the accurate target even in the enemy's area and can return back successfully. The fighter aircraft was originally inducted from Russia. Earlier the fighter aircrafts were generally stationed near the border air bases to thwart any notorious activity by the enemy but now the Sukhois are also being stationed at places such as Thanjavur in the deep south, Chabua in the northeast and Pune in western India. Because of its long legs and speed the Sukhois can join battle at a few hours notice. Let'shave a look at some of the interesting facts relating to these aircraft which is the frontline bludgeon for Indian Air Force. This machine which is a sure shot guarantee of destroying enemy's target was inducted in the last week of September 2002 in Indian Air Force. Sukhoi-30 MKI was a new multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft. Addressing the gathering in a public ceremony at the Pune Air Force Station, the then defence Minister Mr. George Femandes lauded the success achieved by this remarkable acquisition programme in the face of unhelpful denigrations and other obstacles. This multi-role capability aircraft now provides the Indian Air Force option for air-to-ground attack, interdiction and long range strikes in combination with mid-air refueling capability in addition to the original air interception role. The SU-30MKI is the first Russian aircraft designed in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Defence Research and Development Organisation . It was produced only when the Indian Air Force decided to purchase the Sukhoi-30 MKI and include modifications according to its needs. The introduction of the Su-30 into the IAF is a bit baffling for some. This is due to the fact that IAF has been operating Su-30s ever since 1997 which are not Su-30MKIs but Su-30MKs. However, since they are being operated by the Indian Air Force, they are referred to as Su-30MKIs by some expert in the aviation arena. The IAF planned to obtain around 280 Su-30MKIs , and prior to the 2012 contract orders for 230 aircraft had already been placed. As of 2012 about 150-170 Su-30MKI had been inducted into active service.The IAF plan is to upgrade the first 80 Su-30MKIs to the level 'Super Sukhois' with highly advanced radars and weapon systems. The plan calls for equipping the aircraft with long-range stand-off missiles with a range of 300 km. These new missiles with a range around 300 kms would be in addition to the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles which would be carried by some 50 aircraft of the force. Indian Air Force's multi-role Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighters could be armed with supersonic cruise missiles, giving them the capability to strike ground targets from stand-off distance. “The work to adopt the missile for deployment on fighter is being carried out by the Rosoboronexport, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russian partner in BrahMos JV),” a top official of the aircraft manufacturer has said, adding that the missiles could be mounted on the aircraft. With this, India would get the capability to fire these missiles from land, sea as well as air. BrahMos are already fitted on naval warships as well as inducted by the Army. The Indian Air Force compared the Su-30 MKI to the French Mirage 2000-5 and it seems that opted for the former primarily because of monetary reasons since the Russian aircraft was substantially cheaper and as such the number that could be acquired would be considerably larger. This choice was resorted to by the IAF despite the fact that it already is operating the Mirage 2000 aircraft and inducting more of the same would have been drastically more economical in logistic, equipped and maintenance terms. As Indians we can be proud and feel secured that our Air Force is equipped with such a machine which can wreck havoc and destruction on enemies if they ever try to dare to stare at our motherland with bad intentions.