Russia hopes to seal Sukhoi deal with India next month

Russia hopes to sign a contract next month to sell India 40 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters, Irkut president Oleg Demchenko told the Interfax news agency on 24 August. The Su-30MKI is a long-haul Sukhoi fighter specially modified for the Indian air force. Indian officials had earlier said they planned to sign a deal to buy 40 Sukhoi fighters by the end of March.

Irkut's Demchenko said his company had an order book of 242 Su-30 fighters, enough to keep it working at full capacity till 2012. "We will have to produce 30 to 35 aircraft a year," he said, adding that the main purchasers of Sukhoi aircraft were India, Algeria and Malaysia.

Irkut, one of Russia's most modern aircraft producers, makes the Sukhoi-30 range of fighter jets and the Be-200 multipurpose amphibious jet. European aerospace and defence giant EADS has a 10 per cent stake in Irkut, which is now part of the state controlled United Aviation Corporation, was set up by President Vladimir Putin last year to pool Russian aircraft producers under a plan to restore the country's former aviation supremacy.

The Indian Air Force (IAF), one of the biggest in the world, also plans to buy 126 new multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) to upgrade New Delhi's fleet that includes ageing Russian MiG-21s, Mig-23s and MiG-27s.