Indian order provides work for over 100 enterprises(610 words)

Published: 1/11/2001

On the 28th of December, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) finally signed a contract, on the licensed production of the Su-30MKI in India, after negotiations that culminated during President Putin's visit to India in October. Serguey Chemezov(First Deputy General Director of the export agency, Rosoboronexport), Dr Krishna Das Nair (Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Defence) and Ruhti Mohanti, (Managing Director of HAL), signed the deal; the largest of its type between the two countries. The information from the meeting was very limited at the request of the Indians. It was considered curious by some commentators that, given the importance of the contract to his company, Mikhail Pogosyan (General Director of Sukhoi), did not attend the signing event. The contract, for 140 aircraft over 17 years, is valued at around $3.3bn - $3.5bn, allowing India to produce the aircraft for its own requirements, but not for export. Deliveries of Russian-made aircraft and also the upgrades to the 16 earlier M and MK aircraft already delivered, are expected to be completed by 2004/2005, according to Indian Air Force Chief, A.Y.Tipnis. IAPO will produce the aircraft as the lead contractor, in collaboration with: OKB Sukhoi; engine designer and producer OAO Lyulka-Saturn; and Ufa. French producers SAGEM and Sextant Avionique will supply the aircraft's inertial-navigation equipment, while the Israeli EL-OP Electro-optics Industries Ltd. will supply the HUDs. The aircraft will use an Indian friend-or-foe identification system. According to Vladimir Kovalkov, General Director of IAPO, the contract will provide work for over 100 enterprises within the Russian defence industries, allowing them to retain qualified personnel and to create new positions for the first time in quite a while. When production is transferred to HAL's facility in India, IAPO will continue to supply around 60% of the Su-30MKI's components. Developed specifically for the Indians, the Su-30MKI (K stands for commercial/I - for Indian) was reportedly sold to them, as a concept, by Sukhoi's General Designer, Simonov. The contract represents the first of, what is expected to be, a steady flow of customer-specified developments for the Russian aerospace industry, in the absence of domestic orders. The aircraft has not been without its detractors in India, where some have regarded the conversion of the two-seat trainer into a fully-fledged multi-role combat aircraft, as a daunting programme of platform integration. It has yet to be proven, with the aircraft's entry into full service set to take some time yet. It seems likely that India - currently embroiled in a considerable political storm, with regard to both the condition of its Air Force's aircraft and the speed at which its own domestic industry is developing the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) - could provide further business for the Russian industry. The LCA (originally initiated 17 years ago), has only recently flown its first 20-minute flight, and is not expected to start replacing the Air Force's MiG-21s and Mirage-2000s before 2005; having, according to the government, been severely delayed by US sanctions against India. A recent report by the Indian MoD to parliament suggested that, the aircraft is unlikely to be in service before 2012-2015. It is also more than likely that it will be obsolete by then. The incorporation of Sukhoi technology into the aircraft could shorten its passage into service, and is, apparently, being contemplated by the Indians. Under the terms of the Sukhoi contract, the Indians do have the right to use the SU-30MKI technology in their domestically developed aircraft. This application of Russian technology, through the Su-30MKI production in India, has led to comparisons being drawn with India's successful development of the UK's Folland Gnat light fighter in the 1950's (which led to the development of the domestically produced Ajit).

Article ID: 2279