Breaking news
India grounds complete Su-30MKI fighter aircraft fleet.
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World
Aviation Defense and Security News - India |
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| India grounds entiere Su-30MKI fighter aircraft fleet | |||
The
Indian Air Force (IAF) has grounded its entire fleet of Russia-developed
Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft to undergo safety checks, an IAF spokesperson
said in an official statement Wednesday, October 22.
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Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI
jet fighters |
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"The fleet
has been grounded and is undergoing technical checks following the latest
accident in Pune. It would be back in air only after a thorough check,"
Wing Commander Simranpal Singh Birdi said. The fleet of about 200 Su-30 jets currently grounded represents almost a third of the country’s fighter fleet. The IAF is due to purchase another 72 of the aircraft from Russia. An IAF Sukhoi-30 MKI crashed into a field in the Pune district in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Tuesday. There were no casualties as both the pilot and the co-pilot had ejected to safety. The Su-30 MKI, NATO reporting name Flanker-H, is the IAF’s elite fighter-bomber. It was developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation and built under license by India's Hindustan Aeronautics. |
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