New Delhi (Sputnik): India and Russia have been negotiating the purchase of MiG-29 and Su-30MKI aircraft since last year. In 2019, a top-level Indian Air Force (IAF) team visited a Russian facility to check the MiG-29 fighter jets; later, it submitted a favourable report to the IAF headquarters.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to purchase 33 fighter jets from Russia under an emergency clause amid an ongoing border stand-off with China. Government sources have confirmed that the IAF has moved a proposal to the Defence Ministry for approval in which it has suggested the acquisition of 21 MiG-29s and 12 Su-30MKIs from Russia.
The move comes after the IAF team found the price offered by Russia to be competitive. In 2008, India and Russia signed a $964 million contract for the modernisation of 62 MiG-29 twin-engine single-seat air superiority fighters (54 fighters and 8 trainers).
The IAF has also decided to expedite the purchase of additional Su-30s from Russia, which will serve as substitutes for jets which have been lost in accidents. IAF head Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, in a media interaction in October 2019, confirmed that the additional Sukhoi-30MKI fighters would be built by HAL in Nasik.
Last year, India’s state-funded Hindustan Aeronautics Limited offered to produce 40 more Sukhoi-30MKI fighters at a cost of around $64 million per unit, which is lower than that of the multi-role fighter Rafale.
The IAF is facing a shortage of over 200 fighter jets in order to meet the contingencies of a two-front war with China and Pakistan. Earlier, on Tuesday, the Indian government gave additional powers to the armed forces to stock up war reserves.
Border ties between India and China have been strained for over a month and a series of high-level meetings have been conducted to resolve the border issue in the Galvan Valley, where at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a brutal clash with the People’s Liberation Army. However, no conclusion has been reached so far.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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