New Delhi: The Defence Ministry is scheduled to take up two of India's biggest-ever fighter aircraft projects worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore for discussion in a crucial meeting this week, including buying 97 new LCA Mark 1A fighter aircraft and indigenously upgrading 84 Su-30 MKI combat planes.
"The projects are scheduled to come up for discussion at the Defence Ministry meeting scheduled on November 30," defence sources told ANI.
Sources said the 97 LCA Mark1A project would help the country build a strong fighter aircraft manufacturing ecosystem across the country and also help the Indian Air Force replace its MiG-21 fleet, which is being phased out. The two projects are listed for discussion at the Defence Acquisition Council meeting planned for November 30.
The Indian Air Force has already ordered 83 LCA Mark 1A fighter planes, and their deliveries are expected to start in February-March 2024.
The value of the 97 aircraft is expected to be around Rs 65,000 crore, which would be the largest ever fighter aircraft deal in the country.
The Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft project upgrade programme is also one of the biggest ever programmes planned to be done completely indigenously, where Indian weapons, sensors, and radars would be fitted on Russian-origin planes. The project is expected to cost around Rs 64,000 crores.
The Indian firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will be doing the complete design and development work on the aircraft, which includes equipping the aircraft with the latest Virupaksha AESA radars.
The Su-30 fighter jets are the mainstay of the Indian Air Force, with 260 of them already in service. The jets have been inducted in different batches and have now formed around 50 per cent of the fighter fleet.
The Su-30MKI fleet upgrade plan is also seen by the Indian Air Force as an opportunity for exports, as many countries in Southeast Asia and Africa operate the plane and can use these solutions to provide advanced capabilities to their fleets.