The Indian Air Force decided to stop production of Russian Su-30MKI fighters and instead make every effort to ensure the production of domestic LCAMK1A fighters. The Indian Air Force considered the LCAM K1A fighter to be more advanced than the Su-30MKI, so this bold decision was made. This means that Hindustan Aeronautics***'s Su-30MKI production line will be shut down around 2025. In 2000, the Indian Air Force signed an agreement with Russia to introduce Su-30MKI fighters, and plans to gradually localize them. However, India has been slow to localize, and HAL has been facing problems in terms of component quality and equipment reliability. The Su-30MKI did not perform well in the early days of service, with low reliability and high maintenance costs, which made the Indian Air Force resistant to it. Although India has made several upgrades, it is still dependent on Russia on key subsystems. Taking into account the high cost of maintenance, the Indian Air Force decided to stop the procurement and upgrade of the Su-30MKI and concentrate on the development of LCA fighters.
The Indian Air Force originally planned to upgrade the Su-30MKI fighter to the "Super Sukhoi", but due to pressure on maintenance costs and technical constraints, the Indian Air Force has abandoned plans to upgrade the engine for the Su-30MKI. The Indian Air Force will focus its upgrade program on avionics systems and airborne **, but it still needs Russian support, especially in the adjustment of core parameters such as aircraft structure and center of gravity. At the moment, Russia is busy on the battlefield in Ukraine, and the progress of the Su-30MKI upgrade is unknown.
The Indian Air Force has decided to completely eliminate MiG-21 fighters next year, and LCA fighters are urgently needed to replenish the establishment and ensure the number of fighter squadrons. Due to the limited strength of Hindustan Aeronautics*** and the difficulty of maintaining two production lines of Su-30MKI and LCA at the same time, India chose to stop production of Su-30MKI and concentrate on improving the production capacity and performance of LCA fighters. India has planned a series of light and medium fighter projects, based on the LCA fighter, so increasing the production capacity of the LCA fighter is of great significance. However, due to the small size and limited payload range of LCA fighters, their capabilities in offensive operations will be limited.
Compared with India, China has made greater achievements in terms of fighter production capacity and localization. China has introduced the Soviet Union since 1996, thank you for your interest in the PLA. The increase in production capacity of the J-20 and J-16 you mentioned is indeed an important development direction for the PLA. Both of these main fighters have advanced performance and combat capabilities, and are gradually replacing older fighter models. In particular, the J-16 fighter, as an important military aircraft production task before the J-35 was put into production, is speeding up its development and production, and strives to replace the old fighters of the Air Force as soon as possible.
You mentioned that the Indian Air Force decided to stop production of Su-30MKI fighters and to devote itself to the development of domestic LCAM K1A fighters. The Indian Air Force considers the LCAM K1A fighter to be more advanced than the Su-30MKI and plans to close the Su-30MKI production line around 2025. In 2000, the Indian Air Force signed an agreement with Russia to introduce the Su-30MKI and plans to gradually localize it. However, India has been slow to localize, and HAL faces issues such as component quality and equipment reliability. China has achieved great success in introducing and localizing fighters, such as from the Su-27 to the J-11 series of fighters, and finally reached national production.
China's advantages in fighter production capacity and localization are due to years of hard work and experience. Through the introduction of advanced foreign fighters and the improvement of domestic production, China has successfully developed the Su-27 series fighters into various models such as the J-11B, J-11BS and J-16. These fighters have advanced performance and technology, providing the PLA with strong combat capabilities. At the same time, China is also developing a fifth-generation stealth fighter and has made important progress.
For India, their decision to stop production of the Su-30MKI and go all out to develop the LCA fighter may be based on a combination of factors. However, the process of localization may be faced.
1. India has decided to stop production of Su-30MKI fighters and make every effort to develop LCAMK1A fighters.
The Indian Air Force decided to stop production of Russian Su-30MKI fighters and instead make every effort to ensure the production of domestic LCAMK1A fighters. The Indian Air Force considered the LCAM K1A fighter to be more advanced than the Su-30MKI, so this bold decision was made. This means that Hindustan Aeronautics***'s Su-30MKI production line will be shut down around 2025. In 2000, the Indian Air Force signed an agreement with Russia to introduce Su-30MKI fighters, and plans to gradually localize them. However, India has been slow to localize, and HAL has been facing problems in terms of component quality and equipment reliability. The Su-30MKI did not perform well in the early days of service, with low reliability and high maintenance costs, which made the Indian Air Force resistant to it. Although India has made several upgrades, it is still dependent on Russia on key subsystems. Taking into account the high cost of maintenance, the Indian Air Force decided to stop the procurement and upgrade of the Su-30MKI and concentrate on the development of LCA fighters.
The Indian Air Force originally planned to upgrade the Su-30MKI fighter to the "Super Sukhoi", but due to pressure on maintenance costs and technical constraints, the Indian Air Force has abandoned plans to upgrade the engine for the Su-30MKI. The Indian Air Force will focus its upgrade program on avionics systems and airborne **, but it still needs Russian support, especially in the adjustment of core parameters such as aircraft structure and center of gravity. At the moment, Russia is busy on the battlefield in Ukraine, and the progress of the Su-30MKI upgrade is unknown.
The Indian Air Force has decided to completely eliminate MiG-21 fighters next year, and LCA fighters are urgently needed to replenish the establishment and ensure the number of fighter squadrons. Due to the limited strength of Hindustan Aeronautics*** and the difficulty of maintaining two production lines of Su-30MKI and LCA at the same time, India chose to stop production of Su-30MKI and concentrate on improving the production capacity and performance of LCA fighters. India has planned a series of light and medium fighter projects, based on the LCA fighter, so increasing the production capacity of the LCA fighter is of great significance. However, due to the small size and limited payload range of LCA fighters, their capabilities in offensive operations will be limited.
Compared with India, China has made greater achievements in terms of fighter production capacity and localization. China began to introduce the Soviet Union in 1996.