Ministry of Defence signs contract with HAL for procurement of 12 Su-30MKI aircraft

By Anish Kumar | First Published Dec 12, 2024, 9:07 PM IST

Giving a fillip to the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, the defence ministry on Thursday signed a pact to procure 12 Su-30MKI fighter aircraft, with state-plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), at an approximate cost of Rs 13,500 crore, inclusive of taxes and duties.

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As part of the contract, the HAL will also provide associated equipment. The aircraft would have 62.6 per cent of indigenous content, giving an impetus to the domestic defence industry, MSMEs and startups.

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An official said that these aircraft will be manufactured at Nasik division of the defence public sector undertaking, HAL.

“The supply of these aircraft would enhance the operational capability of Indian Air Force and strengthen defence preparedness of the country.”

In September, the ministry inked a contract with the HAL for 240 AL-31FP Aero Engines for Su-30MKI aircraft at a cost of over Rs 26,000 crore.

These engines will be manufactured by the Koraput Division of HAL and are expected to fulfil the need of the Indian Air Force to sustain the operational capability of the Su-30 fleet for the defence preparedness of the country.

As per the contract, the state-plane maker has to supply 30 aero-engines per annum. The supply of all 240 engines would be completed over the period of next eight years.

Indian Air Force had been operating with a total of 272 Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft but currently, it has 259 as some of them were crashed over the years. Presently, the Sukhois constitute the backbone of the IAF’s combat fleet.

At present, 40 Sukhoi fighters have also been modified to carry air-to-ground precision strike BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. The BrahMos range has already been enhanced to 450-km from 290-km and will further go up to 800-km.

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