India Asked Russia To Modernize Su-30MKI Fighter Jet Fleet - Air Force

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) India has asked Russia to modernize Su-30MKI Flanker-H multirole fighter jets used by the Indian military, Birender Singh Dhanoa, the chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, said in an interview, released on Friday.

New Delhi was happy about the program of modernization of the Russian MiG-21, MiG-27 and MiG-29 jets, used by the Indian Air Forces, Dhanoa said in the interview with the Russian Armed Forces' official newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda.

These aircraft had received modern weapons and avionics systems due to the program, which had been successfully tested, Dhanoa pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Su-30 jets have been used by India for around 20 years so New Delhi had asked Moscow to modernize the aircraft in line with existing needs, too, the military official explained.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said in February that there was a possibility to extend the lifespan of around 200 Su-30MKI jets used by India by modernizing them.

The Su-30MKI fighters have been designed by Russia's Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer and built by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under license.