Defense officials said the IAF is considering extending the service life of the aircraft to 20 years or more. IF conducts extensive testing to extend service life.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is planning to extend the service life of SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft by more than twenty years. This fighter aircraft of Russian origin was inducted into the Air Force two decades ago.
The IAF has added 272 SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft to its fleet, and the twin-engine aircraft will be the force’s mainstay for the next fifteen to twenty years.
Defense officials said the IAF is considering extending the service life of the aircraft to 20 years or more. IF conducts extensive testing on the airframe and other aircraft parts to extend service life. He has prior experience with this.
“The service life extension will help the IAF maintain its fleet of powerful SU-30 aircraft till 2045-2050,” he said.
The Air Force is also working on enhancing the capabilities of the aircraft along with updating indigenously developed modern radar, avionics, and weapon systems. It is working to upgrade its fleet of SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft with indigenous weapon systems and a radar called Virupaksha.
Government sources said, ‘Virupaksha radar is being developed indigenously keeping in mind the needs of the Air Force in various areas.’ Sources said the Air Force is working on a mission mode to indigenise the equipment in its inventory and is looking at purchasing equipment worth over Rs 3 lakh crore from Indian firms shortly.
