India grounds complete Su-30MKI fighter aircraft fleet

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World Aviation Defense and Security News - India
 
 
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.
     
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. Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI jet fighters
     
"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.