Indian Security Committee has approved the acquisition of 240 AL-31FP engines for Su-30MKI fighter jets with local production involved.
India has taken a step to sustain its fleet of Su-30MKI twin-seater fighter jets, which has reached 259 aircraft, as reported by The Hindu. The approved acquisition is worth $3.096 billion and includes a 54 per cent localised production of the AL-31FP afterburner turbofan engines. While India is continuing its efforts to develop its fighter jets like Tejas Mk2 and the fifth-generation AMCA, the programmes are experiencing severe setbacks.
Moreover, the country has become somewhat of a free market for both Russian and Western-bloc products with ease of foreign systems acquisition. AL-31FP, specifically developed for India's Su-30MKI fighters, has a maximum thrust of 122.6 kN on the afterburner and features 3D Thrust vectoring for enhanced manoeuvrability. Later, the engine was adopted for use on the Su-30 variants that followed for Russian service.
The Su-30MKI, developed from the Russian Su-30, features modifications according to the requirements of the Indian Air Force. The aircraft includes Indian, Israeli, and French subsystems, especially in the avionics section, instead of Russian ones. Additionally, India is free to integrate its own weapons, like the Brahmos-ER supersonic cruise missile and Astra BVRAAM, on the fighter.
French-made MICA AAM was also tested from the aircraft, making it the only Russian-made fighter capable of firing Western-bloc missiles.
