Indian MoD awards contract to produce new Su-30MKI engines

The Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKIs are powered by two 76.97 kN Saturn AL-31FP engines. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images)

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a contract to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce 240 Saturn AL-31FP engines for the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) Sukhoi Su-30MKIs.

The announcement of the contract on 9 September comes a week after India's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved procurement of the additional engines. The contract has a value of INR260 trillion (USD3 trillion) and calls for the production of 240 engines over an eight-year period, the MoD said.

“HAL [will] supply 30 aero-engines per annum as per the contractual delivery schedule,” the MoD added. Janes previously reported that HAL will produce the engines at its Koraput Division in western India.

The Russian AL-31FP is a 76.97 kN (17,305 lb st) engine and is equipped with thrust vector control (TVC). The MoD has stipulated that HAL must increase the indigenisation content of the engines over the course of the production batches.

“By the end of the delivery programme, HAL [will] enhance the indigenisation content [of the engine] up to 63% to achieve an average of over 54%,” the ministry said.

According to the MoD, HAL enhances its engagement with domestic micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in addition to government-owned and private industries to help increase the quantity of domestic components in the engine. The ministry added that an increase in the indigenous content of the new AL-31FPs will improve the repair and overhaul process of the engines in the future.

For previous Janes reporting on efforts to procure the new engines, please seeIndia approves procurement of 240 engines for Su-30MKIs .