To alleviate the shortfall of fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF), New Delhi, has approached Moscow for one more squadron of Sukhoi-30MKIs fighters.
Reliable defence industry sources in Russia say India’s ministry of defence (MoD) wants Sukhoi to provide Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) with the raw materials and sub-systems needed to build 18 more Sukhoi-30MKIs at its Nashik facility.
Production of this additional tranche can begin in 2020, when HAL Nashik completes delivery of an ongoing contract for building 222 of the twin-engine, heavy fighters.
Russia’s defence export agency, Rosoboronexport, is currently working on an offer and a