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Russia, India to ink Sukhoi deal on Dec 28

New Delhi and Moscow will sign the much-awaited multi-billion-dollar technology transfer deal for the production of 150 Sukhoi 'SU-30MKI' multi-role jets in India under Russian licence on December 28, defence sources in New Delhi said.

The two countries had agreed on the deal during Russian President Vladimir Putin's India visit in October.

A high level Indian team, led by the additional secretary, defence production, Dhirendra Singh, and HAL chairman Krishna Das Nair, is currently in Russia to complete the formalities and ink the deal in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Thursday at the local aircraft plant 'IAPO', the sources told PTI.

Under the three-billion-dollar deal, India would be granted a "deep" licence, which provides for the indigenous production of all components of SU-30MKI over a period of 20 years, including 'AL-31fp' thrust-vectoring engines.

Moscow had signed a similar deal with Beijing a few years ago but had refused to issue "deep" licence to China, which is tightly tied to Russian engine supplies for the licensed production of older generation SU-27 bombers, top Russian defence expert Ruslan Pukhov said.

The Kommersant-Vlast weekly described the Indo-Russian project as Russia's "most-successful" defence deal specially tailored to meet buyer country's strict requirements.

Moscow cannot sell this jet to any third country without New Delhi's "written" consent as it has been developed on Indian money and India has a share in technology rights, it said.

India could use the technological spin-off of the MKI project for developing its advanced fighter and the Sukhoi Corporation has indicated its willingness to jointly develop a fifth generation fighter with India for Russian and Indian air forces if the political leadership of the two countries takes a decision on it.

The Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAPO) commenced test flights in November of the prototype of 'fourth-plus' generation multi-role fighter SU-30MKI with full payload of Indian, Russian, French and Israeli avionics before starting its serial production.

Under the ambitious 1.8 billion-dollar Sukhoi deal signed in November 1996 with Russia, India is to get 40 SU-30MKI multi-role fighters with mid-air refuelling capability. Another deal was signed in December 1998 for the purchase of 10 SU-30k, which would be finally upgraded to 'MKI' where 'I' stands for India.

The deliveries of SU-30MKI and upgradation of already supplied SU-30MK and SU-30K fighters would be completed by year 2004-5.

Russia has already delivered 16 'MK' and 'K' modifications of SU-30 multirole fighter to India.

EARLIER REPORTS:

'It will take 4-5 years to roll out the first batch of Sukhois': HAL chairman Dr C G Krishnadas Nair
A whiff of corruption to the Sukhoi-30 deal

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