Article Posted on : - Feb 11, 2009

The IAF SU 30 displaying at Aero India 2009 at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, in Bengaluru on February 9, 2009. PIB photo

BANGALORE (BNS): Irkut Corporation the makers of Sukhoi have put on display a wide range of military and civil aerial vehicles at the Aero India show beginning here from Wednesday.

At the heart of its display is the multi-role Su-30MKI fighters developed for the Indian Air Force (IAF). These aircraft have been in use with the IAF since early 2000. The best testimony to the Su-30MKIs excellent flight performance and combat capabilities was the result of a number of military exercises conducted by the IAF jointly with some other countries' Air Force recently.

Irkut President Oleg Demchenko said that his company was a regular visitor to Aero India with the view to strengthen long-standing cooperation with partners in the Indian aviation industry. “At the 2009 exhibition we are proudly presenting our latest achievements both in the military and civil aerospace,” Demchenko said.

Irkut emphasised on the production of the Su-30MKI for the IAF and its modifications for other countries in the last decade. In many ways Su-30MKI has been a bridge of Russia's military-technical cooperation with foreign countries. Nearly $ 9 billion worth of contracts have been inked. Over 150 Su-30MKI aircraft have already been delivered to the Air Forces of India, Malaysia and Algeria.

In a statement released to the media, the company said that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. masters licensed production of the Su-30MKI from the technical kits manufactured by it.

“The upgrading of the Su-30MKI Phases 1 and 2 to the final technical configuration is underway with the aid from Irkut in order to unify the IAF's fleet. Traditionally the IAF's Su-30MKI fighters can be admired at the static display and in daily display flights,” officials said.

Also on display is the Yak-130 combat trainer jet developed by the illustrious Yakovlev Design Bureau. Officials said that this jet was chosen as the main aircraft for basic and advanced training for pilots of the Russian Air Force. “As of today, the Yak-130 is the only new-generation combat trainer ordered both by national and foreign Air Forces,” they said.

In the civil aviation domain, Irkut presents the МС-21 short/mid-range passenger airliner with 150-210 seating capacity intended to replace the Tupolev-154. Among other exhibits there are the models of the Be-200ChS amphibious aircraft already well-known both in Russia and abroad, as well as the information about up-to-date UAVs designs with some of them undergoing trials by Russia's state and commercial agencies.