Indian Su-30K fighters display new capabilities
GEORG MADER JDW Correspondent
Vienna
·India’s deployment of Su-30K fighters for a French exercise was the first outside India
·The Indian Su-30Ks took on French Mirage 2000C and 2000-5 fighters
·French pilots were impressed by the Su-30Ks’ capabilities
India’s pilots have demonstrated the power of their Sukhoi Su-30K aircraft in an exercise that saw ‘Flankers’ flying operationally on European soil, outside Russia, for the first time since the early 1990s.
The exercise provided fresh insight into the capability of the aircraft, its weapon load and the advanced abilities of Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots.
The positive experience follows on from the 2004 ‘Cope India’ exercise with the US when the Su-30s competed successfully against F-15C aircraft.
Six Su-30K aircraft took part in ‘Garuda II’ from 15 June to 1 July alongside French Air Force Mirage 2000s, operating from the 125th Air Force Base at Istres and in skies spanning Marseilles to Corsica.
French pilots involved in ‘Garuda II’ said the exercise demonstrates that India is one of the world’s leading air forces and that their pilots are “outstanding professionals with an amazing ability to adapt and [have] good knowledge of NATO procedures”.
It is the first time that the IAF has taken part in an exercise in Europe and, in exchange for a French deployment to India in 2003 for ‘Garuda I’, the first time it has taken six Sukhoi Su-30K fighters out of India.
The Indian aircraft deployed to Istres from their home base near Delhi via Jamnagar in India’s west.
Refuelling from two Ilyushin Il-78 tanker aircraft, the aircraft flew to Egypt’s Jiyanklis air base near Alexandria and then on to Istres.
An IAF spokesperson said: “We could have gone straight with several refuellings, but we did not want to tax the pilots too hard.”
A French officer added: “The Indians have put themselves visibly into the ‘club’ of the world-leading air arms with that remarkable deployment; the Chinese for example, still cannot do that.”
The Su-30Ks and various French Mirage-2000 aircraft performed mutual air defence missions from 17-28 June, that developed in complexity as the exercise progressed.
The fighters also refuelled from the opposite nation’s tankers. This demanded complex preparations because, despite both sides using the hose-and-drogue system, [u]French and Russian jet engines do not use the same JP-fuel.[/u]
Initially the aircraft acted as ‘blue pairs’, doing cross- refuellings and mixed patrols with Mirage 2000Cs equipped with RDI pulse Doppler radars. This was followed by one against two and two against two engagements within visual range, simulating the use of Magic-2 and R-73 (AA-11 ‘Archer’) air-to-air missiles (AAMs).
After 24 June, the arrival of Mirage 2000-5s allowed simulated beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat with the French using MICA AAMs and the Indians using R-77 (RVV-AE or AA-12) AAMs. It was previously believed that only the Su-30MKI fitted with an N011M (Bars) radar could operate the R-77.
Indian exercise leaders referred to the aircraft as Su-30Ks, not Su-30MKs, but several times used the term ‘A-12’ for what they described as “a fully active BVR weapon”.
Official results from the exercise are not yet available.
French pilots used the exercise to assess the ‘threat-benchmark’ of the Su-30. One Mirage pilot said: “In close combat the Mirage [appears] more ‘nervous’ than the Sukhoi. A decision must be achieved in the first minute or the sheer power and the agility of the Su-30 will overwhelm you.” {Ed. A nice little insight}
The latest French frontline fighter, Rafale, was reportedly sought for ‘Garuda II’ but “it has not yet been operationalised in the French Air Force and was thus not available”, a source said.
‘Garuda II’ gave India another good chance of evaluating the Mirage 2000-5 and RDY radar combination, as the IAF will inherit 12 ex-Qatari Mirage 2000-5s and has an upcoming requirement for 126 fighters, which will include that type.
Demanding conditions during the exercise were reported by the Indian side because of “unfamiliar dense airspace with constant fresh restrictions – and the French language-melody on the radio”.
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