New Delhi, Sep 25: India on Tuesday inducted its frontline Sukhoi combat planes at its air force's Halwara base in Punjab, bordering Pakistan.
The Su-30 MKI, the India-built version of the Russian-origin combat jets, will replace the now phased out Soviet-origin MiG-23 planes in the 220 Squadron that is also known as 'Desert Tigers'.
The MiG-23 planes were retired from the Indian Air Force (IAF) service in 2005. With the induction of Sukhois, the squadron got revived at Halwara.
The Sukhoi induction was done by Delhi-based Western Air Command's (WAC) chief Air Marshal Arup Raha in the presence of his wife Lily Raha, according to a defence press release.
India had bought the Sukhois from Russia and inducted them first in 1997. The MKI variant for India is built by the Bangalore-based public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under license.