Sukhoi 30 (SU-30) MKI Fighters

Sukhoi 30 (SU-30) MKI Fighters

News: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to increase the number of Sukhoi 30 (SU-30) MKI fighters integrated with BrahMos supersonic missile.

About SU-30 MKI Fighter Jets:
• The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under license by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter.
• The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was accepted into the Indian Air Force in 2002, while the first Su- 30MKI assembled in India entered service with the IAF in 2004.
• The IAF has nearly 260 Su-30MKIs in inventory as of January 2020.
• The Su-30MKI is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force's fighter fleet to 2020 and beyond.

About Brahmos Missile:
• The BrahMos is a ramjet supersonic cruise missile of a short-range developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya (NPOM).
• It is named after two major rivers of India and Russia - Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• They can be launched from land, air and sea, and all three variants are in service in the Indian armed forces.
• It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second) missile.
• It operates on the 'Fire and Forget' principle which basically means it does not require further guidance after launch.

How does the collaboration help?
• The range of Brahmos missile has been extended from 290 kms to over 500 kms.
• Given the Su-30s’ maritime strike capability, the IAF had made this move with an eye on keeping check on the increasing Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean Region.