How come some Indian here just can not accept the fact that it is a forum about military planes and not personnal BS. Are they dumb… ? Webmaster. Could you erase some of these bimbo’s? Thanks. For the Indians that do not flame over here… Good job! Cause there are many that cannot become normal. I doubt that they have any intellect. What a shame… That magician guy is 100% indian and without any tact…
Sukhoi develops trouble, India stops payment
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Sunday December 14 2003 00:00 IST
NEW DELHI: Worried over the high rate of engine failure of its frontline SU-30MKI, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has refused to accept the latest batch of multi-role Sukhoi fighters from Russia.
It’s learnt that though a batch of the Sukhois has been dispatched to the Lohegan Air Force Station in Pune, the IAF has decided not to accept them until the Russian manufacturers Rosvoorouzhenie accept its demands to rectify the several glitches in the aircraft.
The IAF has also suggested to the Ministry of Defence that further payments to the Russians be stopped until the demands are met. When this was conveyed to the Russians, they immediately dispatched a team to meet Indian officials. A Russian team met top MoD officials as well as the IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy in South Block on Thursday evening.
As of today, the IAF has an operational fleet of 28 aircraft of both Sukhoi variants, the upgraded Su-30 MKI and its air defence fighter variant Su-30 K. Powered by the AL-31FP engine, it is rated among the best fighter aircraft in service today.
The Su-30 MKI deal, worth a little over Rs 10,000 crore, envisages the delivery of 120 aircraft from Russia while another 140 will be manufactured under license in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
Sources said that the SU-30MKIs began to experience a high rate of engine failure after induction. Each engine has a life that is measured in hours, around 300 hours spent flying, taking off and landing between overhauls. To maintain them, the engines are subjected to periodic overhauling, calculated as Time Between Overhauls (TBO). A majority of the SU-30MKI’s engines were withdrawn even before their TBO.
After much deliberations, Air Headquarters declined to comment despite being sent a detailed questionnaire by the this website’s newspaper.
South Block says that the crux of the problem lies in the interpretation of the SU-30MKI contract. According to South Block, the Russian interpretation was that the plane engine would last for the stipulated number of hours “under normal flying conditions”.
However, as the Indian side has been putting the plane under stress conducting manoeuvres _ vertical flying and the cobra manoeuvre _ the engine has not been able to last for the stipulated number of hours under the contract. South Block officials say that some sort of compromise will have to be reached between the two sides as further research and development on the engine will cost more money to already cash strapped Russians aircraft manufacturers.
Although negotiations are currently on, South Block sources said that the MoD was forced to take such a step because the Russians refused to comply with IAF requests, citing the contract signed earlier.
In fact, the Navy had adopted a similar approach when a Sthil missile system on board the stealth frigate `INS Talwar’ failed to perform. Naval Headquarters had recalled its crew from Moscow after the Russians ignored the demands to rectify the faults.
The decision not to accept the SU-30MKIs, sources said, could well delay the IAF’s overall induction plan. With several MiG squadrons being “number-plated” _ air force jargon for retiring an aircraft from service _ the IAF has been desperate to find a suitable replacement.
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