IAF’s Su-30 fleet: 12 aircraft lost, 3 pilots killed in 22 years
The sanctioned strength of the Su-30 fleet is 272, and at present 260 aircraft are said to be in service with 13 operational squadrons, besides other technical establishments like Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE).
The heavy, two-engine twin-seat multirole aircraft now form the backbone of the IAF’s combat fleet. The original Su-30 entered Russian air force service in 1994 and development of the India-specific MKI variant started in 2000, with a pact in 1996 to manufacture 140 aircraft.
The first Russian-made Su-30 MKI variant out of the 50 to be delivered directly was inducted into the IAF in 2002, and the first of the remaining aircraft assembled by HAL in India entered service in November 2004. In December 2000, a deal was signed for full technology transfer to India and the numbers required went up to 272 aircraft.
After seven years of incident free flying, the first major accident involving this aircraft happened on April 30, 2009 when a Su-30 from No. 30 Squadron crashed in Rajasthan. Both pilots ejected, but one succumbed to injuries. Some reports later said that the crew had inadvertently switched off the aircraft’s flight control system that led to the crash.
Another aircraft was lost the same year when the aircraft’s engine caught fire during a training sortie over the Pokhran range in November. Both the pilots from 31 Squadron bailed out safely.
Other crashes happened in December 2011, April 2012, February 2013, October 2014, May 2015 and March 2017 during routine sorties and training missions. Some were attributed to technical defects and others to human error.
The crash that took place in 2013 was a result of defective ordnance release during a night sortie over Pokhran range. The live bombs that the aircraft was carrying failed to release and exploded while still attached to the underwing pylons, inflicting serious damage and injuring the pilots, though they managed to bail out and survived.
On May 23, 2017, the IAF lost two pilots from No. 2 Squadron when their aircraft went down in dense forests of the northeast during a training sortie. The aircraft had taken off from Tezpur airbase as part of a two-aircraft formation, lost radar and radio contact with the air traffic control at 11.10 am. The last reported position of the aircraft was 60 km northwest of Tezpur and there were no reports of the pilots having ejected.
Four crashes happened in June 2018, August 2019, January 2023, June 2024. Among them, two involved aircraft at HAL’s Nashik plant in Maharashtra and in both the cases as well as the one in 2024, the pilots bailed out safely.
On January 28, 2023, a Su-30 and a Mirage 2000 from TACDE in Gwalior were involved in a mid-air collision. While the Mirage pilot was unable to eject and died in the accident, the two Su-30 pilots ejected and sustained only minor injuries.
The Su-30 is a large, long-range aircraft that can carry over 8,000 kg of bombs, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles and anti-ship missiles. It has also been modified to air launch the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile.
The IAF has experienced some technical issues with the fleet in the past like engine problems and unintended triggering of the ejection seats. The fleet has gone in for several upgradation and capability enhancement programmes with the integration of new avionics, subsystems and weapons sourced from Indian, Russian, Israeli and French agencies.
Another major upgrade programme, referred to as Super Sukhoi, is on the anvil with Defence Acquisition Council, issuing an Acceptance of Necessity for the Rs 60,000 crore project that would be undertaken by HAL in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), industry and academia.
This could involve new engines, avionics, electronic warfare suite, radar and navigation systems along with life extension. The aircraft are expected to remain in service till 2060.
