Approximately, 100 Su-30MKI aircraft are divided into five squadrons, and the IAF plans to have about 270 of these aircraft in the long run.
These upgraded Super Sukhois will have a better lifecycle engine, be fitted with a modern glass cockpit, and the aircraft will be able to carry more weapons with a larger range. Fedorov said the number of aircraft the IAF wants upgraded, will be done, beginning with the current fleet.
About the radar, the Super Sukhois are likely to be installed with the AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar, made by the Russian Tikhomirov's NIIP.
Test pilot Yury Vaschuk, who made the first public flight of the Sukhoi-35 fighter jet at the airshow, said, "The IAF's Su-30MKI upgrade will bring the aircraft close to the Su-35 aircraft, which already has fifth generation features." Vaschuk, who has clocked 70 hours on the Su-35, said both the Su-30 and Su-35 belonged to the Su-27 family, from which originated the fifth generation fighter, called the PAK-FA/T-50, which also debuted at the MAKS airshow this year. The Su-35 is a twin-engined, single cockpit, multi-role aircraft with a digital fly-by-wire controls.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Chairman Ashok Nayak said there was no progress on the Sukhoi upgrade, and it was yet to be finalised.