Preparations to enhance air force capabilities are underway
At present, India needs such advanced aircraft to increase the strength of its air force. In this direction, the “Super Sukhoi” program can become a problem solver. India soon plans to upgrade 84 Su-30MKI fighter jets to “Super Sukhoi”. The Defense Acquisition Council recently approved this. It is believed that the Cabinet Security Committee meeting chaired by the Prime Minister will make a decision on this soon. The estimated cost of the scheme is approximately Rs 63,000 crore.
The Indian-technology Super Sukhoi aircraft will be equipped with state-of-the-art stealth technology, advanced radars, mission computers, electronic warfare suites, upgraded cockpit layout and modern weapons systems. In this way, it can enter the category of fifth-generation fighter jets. The aircraft will also add “manned-unmanned teaming” (MUM-T) technology, allowing attack or reconnaissance drones to fly alongside fighter jets.
Advanced radar and upgraded electronics
The Super Sukhoi will be equipped with an advanced Indian-made radar system whose range will be 1.5 to 1.7 times that of the existing Sukhoi radar. Apart from this, they will also be equipped with infrared search and tracking sensors developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd. The aircraft’s electronics will also be upgraded, with a total of 51 systems installed, including three mission computers. Of these, 30 systems will be upgraded by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, 13 systems by the Defense Research and Development Organization and eight systems by the private sector.
2028 fifth-generation stealth fighter
Upgrading, testing and certification of the Super Sukhoi aircraft is expected to take about seven years, and it may take another eight years to complete the upgrade of all 84 aircraft, for a total time of 15 years. It also plans to hand over its first fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Advanced Medium Fighter, to the Air Force by 2028. The current fighter capabilities of the Indian Air Force are not as good as they were in 1965. In this case, the strength of the air force suffered due to delays caused by the retirement of old Soviet-era fighter jets and the unavailability of engines in the Tejas Mark-1A program. At the same time, the demand for multi-role fighter aircraft also increased.
At present, the Indian Air Force has only 31 squadrons. From a security perspective, the situation is very serious. The Super Sukhoi program will further enhance the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and promote the future contribution of India’s indigenous technology in the defense sector.
