New Delhi: From having the ability to strike at enemy targets beyond 100 km to modern electronic warfighting capabilities with the latest radar technology, about 100 Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKIs will undergo a full-fledged upgrade after a contract is signed this year.

The integration and upgrade process will be undertaken in India through close collaboration between the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russians.

Sources in the defence establishment said that while 100 fighters will be upgraded in the initial lot, the rest of the 160 more in the inventory will be upgraded in batches.

The HAL will take on the upgrades as the ‘Lead System Integrator’ with support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) along with other defence public sector undertakings (DPSU) as well as the private industry, the sources said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will be the key driver by dedicating teams for Project Monitoring, Software Development and Flight Testing and Evaluation.

The sources explained that having been the mainstay of the IAF fighter fleet for over two decades, mid-life upgrade of the Su-30MKI is long overdue.

With an exponential rate of technological advances in the field of military aviation, it becomes imperative for any fighter aircraft to undergo a mid-life upgrade at some point during its life cycle, they added.

The limitation of the aircraft was acutely felt after the Balakot strike of 2019. The Sukhoi Su-30MKI was outmatched in terms of ability to track and hit by the F-16s of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and it was forced to take a tactical manoeuvre to avoid the enemy fighters.

The requirements for the ‘Su-30 Enhancement Program’ were frozen in 2017 after multiple discussions with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the Sukhoi Corporation, the HAL and other stakeholders.

The sources added that keeping in mind the need to reduce dependency of foreign OEMs, the upgrade programme was reconceived with the view to utilise indigenous technologies.

The upgrade will be centred around an indigenous Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which will be more capable than the one to be installed on the TEJAS MK-1A.

The fighter jet will also be equipped with enhanced avionics systems, sensors and new generation long range air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. A comprehensive Electronic Warfare (EW) suite is also planned to enhance the survivability of the aircraft in hostile airspace, the sources said.

The Sukhoi Su-30MKIs, which were procured in batches from the late 90s through off the shelf purchase and knocked down kits, were in the past retro-fitted with limited sub-systems from France, Israel as well as India.

Currently, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI forms the backbone of the IAF’s fighter inventory, with about 260 of these in service. In November 2023, the air force issued a tender to HAL for buying 12 additional Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters.

The sources explained that since Sukhoi Su-30MKIs are the most in number, these fighters will be at the forefront in case of a flare up with adversaries like China. The upgrades thus intend to take the fourth-generation fighter to become a 4.5-generation plus fighter.

The AESA radar, which will replace the Passive Electronically Scanned Array (PESA) radar, offers a longer range along with other features such as ‘low probability of intercept’ and can detect air-to-air and air-to-ground incoming threats simultaneously.

As of now, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI’s EW capabilities date back to the early 2000s. The sources said the fighters will be fitted with ‘cutting-edge’ technology that best caters to present-day threats. Future generations of the Astra missiles may be fitted onto the platform, they added.

While Su-30MKI currently has the R-77 missile, the plan is to integrate the indigenous Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) ‘Astra’.

With the Sukhoi Su-30MKI going in for upgrades, a workshare of approximately ₹1,200 crore can be expected for MSMEs or start-ups and private industries during the design and development phase, it is learnt.

“The Sukhoi Su-30MKI that the IAF flies today has much improved capabilities than the original Sukhoi-30K inducted way back in 1997, which I was a part of,” Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhary (Retd), a former Sukhoi pilot, said.

Nearing three decades and being IAF’s mainstay combat fleet, the upgrade will keep the fighter jet combat relevant in the future, he added. Radar upgrade will enable it to ‘see further’ or detect the enemy at much longer ranges and engage more targets simultaneously.

Choudhary said the avionics upgrade will enable it to ‘hit further’ with advanced long range stand-off air to air missiles which can shoot down the aerial threats at very long ranges, well inside the enemy’s airspace.

Similarly, advanced long range standoff air to ground precision weapons will be able to hit enemy targets deep inside its territory with pinpoint accuracy, while reducing the vulnerability of the platform to the enemy air defence, he added.

“Advanced EW and self-protection suite will enable the IAF to ‘reach further’ by penetrating deeper into hostile airspaces, by increasing the survivability of the aircraft against enemy air and ground threats,” he said.