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UF govt bungled Sukhoi deal?
From Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Feb 11 — Was the Indian Air Force (IAF) committed to buying a non-existent fighter aircraft in the Sukhoi-30MKI, the over Rs 6,300-crore contract for which the Cabinet approval was given at the time of the United Front government?

The question which had been bothering defence experts became relevant today after the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis, said the multi-crore deal was likely to come under scrutiny in the probe ordered by the Defence Ministry.

Air Chief Marshal Tipnis said the deal would “certainly come under scrutiny and that the IAF would comply with whatever was asked for by the Central Vigilance Commission and the CBI.

Experts point out that in one of the most bizarre decisions on national security, the Government of India has committed over Rs 6,300 crore to buy hi-tech Russian aircraft, Sukhoi-30MKI, which were not only really required by the IAF but also do not exist.

For the staggering amount, the IAF, in the first few planes which arrived in the country, has been handed over simpler operational conversion trainers (SU-27 PU) as SU-30MKI. The aircraft demanded by India is still to be developed and through this deal India is funding Russia to develop an aircraft for it (India).

Experts say India never really required an aircraft like the Sukhoi-30 with a range of 1500 nautical miles when there was no change in the threat perception in the neighbourhood. As per the threat perception level, the IAF requires aircraft with an operational range of the existing 300 nautical miles, Investing in the Sukhois is only blocking the money which could have been used for other purposes.

A recent study carried out by a joint team of the IAF and the DRDO has pointed out that not only were there design deficiencies in the aircraft but in times of war it could actually be a sitting duck. The report points out that its platform was too large and that it had not been tested for its war capabilities before the contract was signed.

A closer look at the Sukhoi deal points out that too many conditions and principles were overlooked at the time of the signing of the deal. The deal smacked more of a “political will” rather than the “operational requirements” of the IAF. Of the Rs 6,330 crore about Rs 450 crore had been paid in advance even before the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs endorsed the deal.

What is interesting is that India will initially receive some aircraft from Russia which will not be the ones demanded by the IAF. But after some years of being in operation, the aircraft will go back to Russia to be upgraded to the level of fighter jets for which the order was placed. The present SU-27 PU trainer aircraft will go back to Russia to be upgraded as SU-30MKIs.

As per reports, there are about 200 SU-27s in service with the Russian Air Force since the late eighties and with China since the early nineties. The aircraft was developed essentially as a long-range interceptor but with latent ground attack capability.

However, due to lack of funding by the Russian government and no orders from its air force, the multi-role version, which the IAF is to get, is yet to be developed. What the Sukhoi company did, in anticipation of orders, was to develop 30 trainers (SU-27 PU) It is from this batch that the first few aircraft have been sent to India.

Sources point out that the IAF has violated principles while going in for the Sukhois. Firstly, the need for establishing an air staff requirement (ASR) before ordering an aircraft was overlooked. Although the IAF claims that there is an ASR now, according to reports, it could only have been a cover up as such ASRs need around 10 years of work and cannot be made in two to three years as was done in the case of the Sukhois.

Secondly the principle of not to commit oneself to a combat aircraft until it has been fully developed and evaluated by the ASTE was also ignored. By no stretch of imagination can flying the SU-27 be considered as an evaluation of the SU-30MKI weapon system, considering the changes that are envisaged. In fact the IAF has committed itself to a weapon system that does not exist. As per the contract the air defence variant being supplied now will be modified to the multi-role SU-30 MK over a period of 10 years.

Thirdly the IAF forgot that the assured product support over the weapons system’s lifecycle is even more crucial than the weapon system itself. It is preferable to choose a lower performance system but with assured support, the sources say. Incidentally, Russian pilots have flown a mere 155 sorties in 84 hours to give the SU-30 the air-worthiness certificate.

Going into the chronology of the deal is also interesting. In December 1993, the then air chief, Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul had described the SU-27 family as irrelevant to the future plans of the IAF. However, by April 1994, Air Marshal Kaul had ordered the then Air Vice-Marshal S.R. Krishnaswamy, Vice-Chief of Plans, to evaluate the Sukhois. Unprecedented secrecy followed the preparation of the ASR and the evaluation report. The Operations Branch, which should have initiated the ASR was kept out of it. And in less than two years India had singed its biggest weapons deal in history with Russia.

When Air Chief Marshal S.K. Sareen took over as the air chief in 1996, he asked for more Mirage-2000. But he was told there were no funds. While there was no money for the Mirage, there was enough for the SU-30. He also fell in line for the purchase of the aircraft.

Some of the questions which come to mind are what was the pressing need for yet another class of fighter aircraft when the perfectly adequate Mirage-2000 and the MiGs were already in service? Had the technology and threat environment changed in the region?

India, incidentally does not have a repair and overhaul facility for the Sukhois. It will need another Rs 7000 crore for this facility.