Fighter Jets in the Indian Air Force
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI [3] (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a variant of the Sukhoi Su-30 jointly-developed by Russia's Sukhoi Corporation and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is a heavy class, long-range air superiority fighter which can also act as a multirole, strike fighter aircraft.
The development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets.[4] The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was integrated into the IAF in 2002,[5] while the first indigenously assembled Su-30MKI entered service with the IAF in 2004.[6] In 2007, the IAF ordered 40 additional MKIs.[7] As of July 2010, the IAF has 124 MKIs under active service with plans to have an operational fleet of 280 MKIs by 2015.[8] The Su-30MKI is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force's fighter fleet to 2020 and beyond.[9]
The aircraft is tailor-made for Indian specifications and integrates Indian systems and avionics as well as[10] French and Israeli subsystems.[11] It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su-35 with which it shares many features and components Aerodynamics
Two Sukhoi-30MKIs during a Thach Weave maneuver.
Su-30MKI aerodynamic configuration is an unstable longitudinal triplane. The canard increases the aircraft lifting ability and deflects automatically to allow high angle-of-attack (AoA) flights allowing it to perform Pugachev's Cobra. The integral aerodynamic configuration combined with thrust vectoring results in extremely capable maneuverability, taking off and landing characteristics. This high agility allows rapid deployment of weapons in any direction as desired by the crew. The canard notably assists in controlling the aircraft at large angles-of-attack and bringing it to a level flight condition. The wing will have high-lift devices featured as deflecting leading edges, and flaperons acting as flaps and ailerons The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is
The development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets.[4] The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was integrated into the IAF in 2002,[5] while the first indigenously assembled Su-30MKI entered service with the IAF in 2004.[6] In 2007, the IAF ordered 40 additional MKIs.[7] As of July 2010, the IAF has 124 MKIs under active service with plans to have an operational fleet of 280 MKIs by 2015.[8] The Su-30MKI is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force's fighter fleet to 2020 and beyond.[9]
The aircraft is tailor-made for Indian specifications and integrates Indian systems and avionics as well as[10] French and Israeli subsystems.[11] It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su-35 with which it shares many features and components Aerodynamics
Two Sukhoi-30MKIs during a Thach Weave maneuver.
Su-30MKI aerodynamic configuration is an unstable longitudinal triplane. The canard increases the aircraft lifting ability and deflects automatically to allow high angle-of-attack (AoA) flights allowing it to perform Pugachev's Cobra. The integral aerodynamic configuration combined with thrust vectoring results in extremely capable maneuverability, taking off and landing characteristics. This high agility allows rapid deployment of weapons in any direction as desired by the crew. The canard notably assists in controlling the aircraft at large angles-of-attack and bringing it to a level flight condition. The wing will have high-lift devices featured as deflecting leading edges, and flaperons acting as flaps and ailerons The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is