Moscow, New Delhi Discuss Possible Modernization Of Su-30MKI Fighters - Russian Official

Russian and Indian authorities are discussing the possibility of modernizing the fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKI heavy multirole fighters by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Anatoly Punchuk, the deputy director the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), told Sputnik on Friday

BENGALURU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) Russian and Indian authorities are discussing the possibility of modernizing the fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKI heavy multirole fighters by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Anatoly Punchuk, the deputy director the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), told Sputnik on Friday.

Punchuk is currently attending the Aero India 2019 show in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.

According to the FSMTC deputy director, Russia and India have been considering the fighters' modernization by the Indian corporation, which builds the aircraft under a license, in cooperation with Russian experts.

The Indian Air Force had a fleet of more than 240 Su-30MKI fighter jets, developed for India by Russia's Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer, as of June 2017. The contract signed by the two countries envisages the purchase and production of 270 fighter jets of this type by the Indian corporation.

In early February, the FSMTC also said that India had applied for the purchase of additional assembly sets of Sukhoi Su-30MKIs.