Su-30 MKI

Su-30MKI
An Indian Air Force Su-30MKI
Role	Multirole Air superiority fighter
National origin	Russia / India
Design group	Sukhoi Design Bureau
Built by	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (under licence)
First flight	IAF Su-30МК: 1 July 1997 Su-30MKI: 2000
Introduction	27 September 2002
Status	In service
Primary user	Indian Air Force
Produced	Su-30MKI: 2000–present
Number built	225 as of May 2016
Unit cost	₹358 crore (US$53 million) in 2014
Developed from	Sukhoi Su-30
Variants	Sukhoi Su-30MKM

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter.

Development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets. The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was accepted into the Indian Air Force in 2002, while the first indigenously assembled Su-30MKI entered service with the IAF in 2004. Additional MKIs have been ordered to increase the total from 272 to 314. The IAF had 242 Su-30MKIs in service as of August 2014. The Su-30MKI is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force's fighter fleet to 2020 and beyond.

The aircraft is tailor-made for Indian specifications and integrates Indian systems and avionics as well as French and Israeli sub-systems. It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su-35 with which it shares many features and components.

The Su-30MKI was designed by Russia's Sukhoi Corporation beginning in 1995 and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Su-30MKI is derived from the Sukhoi Su-27 and has a fusion of technology from the Su-37 demonstrator and Su-30 program, being more advanced than the Su-30MK and the Chinese Su-30MKK/MK2.Russia's Defence Ministry was impressed with the type's performance envelope and ordered 30 Su-30SMs, a localised Su-30MKI, for the Russian Air Force. It features state of the art avionics developed by Russia, India and Israel for display, navigation, targeting and electronic warfare; France and South Africa provided other avionics.