Irkut Corp Commences Work on Su-30MKI Repair and Overhaul Facility in India

As reports emerge of concerns over the Su-30MKI maintenance and overhaul, Irkut Corp today said it was ready to discuss new modes of keeping MKI’s serviceability at the desired level so that our common objective of providing to the IAF’s servicing needs is met.

In an exclusive interview with Defenseworld.net, Vitaly Borodich, senior vice-president (military aviation), IRKUT Corp, said that the immediate task before Irkut and HAL is the setting up of an overhaul facility for Su-30MKIs in India.

“Necessary documentation and equipment has been shipped to HAL by now. According to plans of the IAF, a certain number of aircraft have to be overhauled during this year which I believe HAL will make this happen and we are there to support its efforts”, he said.
As of today, Indian and Russian experts are focused meeting this challenge in the shortest possible time, he added.

Borodich also said, “As the previous experience of our joint work has proved, we always manage to find out ways to improve the maintenance of aircraft and systems”.
Addressing recent reports suggesting problems in Su-30MKIs maintenance, Borodich said, “First of all, we do understand a public concern on issues of the state’s defence matters. But in this case, the criticism about the Su-30MKI program was not based on full and accurate data. Rather it is supposed to have come from stolen electronic documents”.

The documents contained a lot of routine business correspondence between partners, he said. However, only the negative parts within the documents have been highlighted in the media, he said, adding that the hacking “may be part of an operation aimed at discrediting the Su-30 MKI program. I better leave it to your readers’ speculations on who gains by this negative projection”.


Source: By Bindiya Thomas, defenseworld.net News – 5 April 2014

Photo: The Indian Air Force Su-30MKI Fighter Aircraft (Photo by IAF)


(5.04.2014)