A Sukhoi 30Mki

New Delhi, July 8: The Indian Air Force will induct about 130 Sukhoi 30Mki fighter aircraft over the next five years, more than doubling the current size of the fleet of the combat jet, defence minister A.K. Antony said in Parliament today.

The Sukhoi 30 multi-role combat aircraft will gradually become the mainstay of the IAF’s fighter fleet, replacing the MiG 21. The Sukhois are vastly superior to the MiG 21s, which are being phased out. The MiG 21s are mostly air defender aircraft incapable of flying for more than 30 minutes in a single sortie. The Sukhoi 30s are multi-role and capable of being refuelled in mid-air.

Over the next five years the IAF also expects to begin inducting the first of its medium multi-role combat jets for which six competing aircraft (the F-16 Super Viper, the F-18 Super Hornet, the MiG 35, the JAS 39 Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Rafale) are to go into flight evaluation tests from this month.

The IAF began inducting the Sukhoi 30 in 1996. There are currently 98 upgraded Sukhoi 30Mki aircraft in the fleet. “The Indian Air Force is very happy with these aircraft,” Antony said in answer to a question.

A Sukhoi 30 Mki crashed near Jaisalmer on April 30 killing a pilot and shocking the military that least expected a mishap with one of its most modern fighting machines.

Antony said the findings of a court of inquiry are still pending.

The minister of state for defence, M.M. Pallam Raju, said the black box of the aircraft was damaged. “The black box has been badly damaged. There is only one company in the UK that can retrieve the data contained in it. That effort is now under way,” Raju said in reply to a supplementary during question hour.

“Following the incident, the IAF has undertaken a detailed inspection of all Sukhoi 30 Mki fighter aircraft,” Antony said.

Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik had indicated earlier that there might have been problems with the ejection mechanism of the aircraft that crashed, leading to the death of Wing Commander P.S. Narah.

In response to another question, Antony said eight aircraft of the IAF had crashed between January and June this year. In the 12 months till June this year there had been 10 crashes involving fighter aircraft, he said.