“If additional Su-30MKIs are needed, then we are ready to develop such an agreement, we just need a request from the Indian side,” Sergei Goreslavsky told RIA Novosti in an interview ahead of the Aero India-2015 exposition in Bangalore, India, that will open on February 18.
According to recent reports by local media, India could pull out of the $20 billion deal with France’s Dassault Aviation company on the acquisition of 126 Rafale multirole fighter aircraft.
The Indian Defense Ministry is reportedly considering scrapping the deal over its high costs and Dassault’s refusal to guarantee the performance of Rafale aircraft produced in India under transfer of technology agreements, seeing the Russian-designed Su-30MKI as a more sensible alternative.
The Indian Defense Ministry is reportedly considering scrapping the deal over its high costs and Dassault's refusal to guarantee the performance of Rafale aircraft produced in India under transfer of technology agreements, seeing the Russian-designed Su-30MKI as a more sensible alternative.
In January, a source in the Indian Defense Ministry told Sputnik that the country had not made a decision regarding the purchase of the Rafales. According to the source, Su-30s are seen as an alternative if the deal with France falls through.
On Monday, Russian aircraft corporation Irkut announced that Russia and India plan to discuss the modernization of Russian-designed Su-30MKI fighters, including equipping them with BrahMos cruise missiles.
Russia's Sukhoi Su-30MKI super-maneuverable fighter jet is a variant of the Su-30MK developed for the Indian Air Force, which currently has a fleet of over 200 Su-30MKIs, built by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufacturer under Irkut's license.
