Indian Air Force (IAF) in a move to boost its dwindling fighter squadron strength is pushing a proposal for acquiring 33 new combat aircraft including 21 MiG-29s and 12 Sukhoi 30s.
A high-level meeting of the Defence Ministry is going to be held in the next few weeks but before that a proposal regarding the same will be presented by the IAF, said reports.
Moreover, the 12 Su-30 MKIs are being planned to be inducted for replacing the number of aircraft lost by the Air Force in different accidents, claims reports.
In a view to maintain its fleet of 272 Su-30MKI fighters, the 12 additional Sukhois will be added.
Meanwhile, the senior officers feel that the number of planes which are acquired so far would be enough for the IAF’s heavy-weight aircraft requirement as India had placed orders to buy 272 Su-30 fighter jets over a period of 10-15 years in different batches
Russia in a move to help the IAF to meet its requirement of new fighter planes, has offered to sell 21 MiG 29s to India.
“As per plans, the MiG-29s on offer would be of the latest upgraded MiG-29s which are already in service with the IAF. The radars and other equipment on the planes would also be of the latest standards,” the sources said.
The negotiations for the MiG-29s are at an advanced stage and the IAF is hoping to finalise the deal at the earliest possible, they said.
Study had been carried out by IAF to check if the airframes of the MiG-29s on offer were good enough for it to operate for a long time.
Although, the pilots are familiar with flying MiG-29s but the ones offered by the Russians are different from the ones in the Indian inventory.
Interestingly, the Indian Navy also operates the MiG-29 ‘K’ and is the only operator of this version of the plane, however it is having a rough experience with the planes which are difficult to maintain. Moreover, their settings change immediately after they land on the aircraft carrier which further causes issues.
Three squadrons of the MiG-29s which are already with the IAF are currently undergoing upgrades for extended life. They are considered to be great fighter planes in the defence roles by IAF.
Reportedly, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (awarded by Vir Chakra) was also flying a MiG-21 as a part of a sortie that was scrambled to intercept an intrusion into Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani aircraft on 27 February 2019.
(Aditya Hore)