Article Posted on : - Dec 12, 2014

A file photo.

NEW DELHI (PTI): IAF Chief Arup Raha on Thursday said the Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the October crash of a Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft, that led to the grounding of the entire fleet for a month, will be completed in a fortnight, days after the Russian envoy indicated human error behind the incident.

Refusing to comment on Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin's recent statement indicating human error behind the crash, the Air Force chief said he does not want to pre-empt anything.

"The CoI is still on. I think within about 10 to 15 days time, we will come to some conclusion. I do not want to pre- empt anything and tell you some thing, which may not be correct," Raha told reporters here.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the release of phase II of Indian Air Force 3D mobile air combat game - Guardians of the Skies - on android, iOS and windows mobile app stores.

The entire fleet of Russian-made frontline fighter aircraft was grounded by the Indian Air Force in October following a crash near Pune. It was cleared for flying last month.

On the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India, Raha said that several issues, including IAF requirements, were expected to figure during the talks.

"Whatever problems are there, we are trying to resolve.

Whatever issues are there in terms of IAF requirements or cooperation in defence matters with our Russian partner, I am sure that will feature in the discussions," the Air Chief Marshal said, adding, "There will be a lot of improvements...lot of issues will get resolved."

Noting that India has had a very long-term relationship with Russia, he said that both the partners would get mutually benefited.

"There is mutual dependence. A lot of the combat fleet, helicopter fleet, transport fleet that we operate are sourced from the Russians. Obviously, there will be lot of discussions. We will benefit from the discussions," he said.

On the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft, Raha said that India and Russia are working together to develop the plane as per an intergovernmental agreement.