Article Posted on : - Dec 25, 2012

IAF's Su-30MKI fighter jet.

MUMBAI (PTI): The signing of a contract worth around USD 2.2 billion between India and Russia for licence production of 42 Su-30MKIs marks a significant step in the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)'s preparedness to manufacture fighter aircraft indigenously, a former top official of the company has said.

The 42 aircraft would be built at the HAL's Nashik plant and delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the next 4-5 years, the firm's former Managing Director (Nashik and Koraput Divisions) Prakash V Deshmukh told PTI.

Responding to a question on the Indo-Russian deal signed on Monday, he said the process will signify India's capability to indigenously build modern world-class fighter planes from raw materials.

"Last year, HAL Nashik delivered four such aircraft, built from raw material to the Indian Air Force," Deshmukh said.

Of the 28,000 aircraft parts manufactured indigenously, nearly 11,000 were outsourced from the private sector including flight-critical assemblies, he said.

So far, the IAF has nearly 170 Su-30MKIs in its inventory with 100 more to be produced and supplied by HAL in the next five to six years.