The Indian Air Force lost another and at least its fourteenth russian Su-30MKI fighter. Another crash occurred yesterday, March 5, in the northeast of the country in Assam state. Both fighter pilots died as a result of the crash.
The Su-30MKI was conducting a training flight approximately 60 km from its home airfield in Jorhat city when contact was lost at 7:42 PM local time. According to Indian NDTV, locals heard an explosion and saw a fireball. At the same time, the crash causes have not been announced.
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Defense Express notes that the fact that these carry a systemic character remains obvious. Overall, India purchased 272 Su-30MKIs from russia since 1996 in several batches. Fourteen officially lost aircraft represents about 5% of the fleet. In most cases, accident and crash causes are not announced.
From what is known, this involves two fires, four cases related to technical malfunctions of onboard systems, as well as two cases with obvious human factor influence forced control system shutdown during flight (April 30, 2009) and collision with Dassault Mirage 2000 during exercises (January 28, 2023).
At the same time, the Su-30MKI loss rate is significantly lower than the MiG-29, of which India purchased 125 units in various versions since 1989, losing 25 in crashes and accidents, or 20%. However, the difference in operation time is quite significant. The anti-record can possibly be considered, overall globally and not just for India, the MiG-21, of which Indian air forces lost over 60% in accidents and crashes, was retired from service only in September 2025.
Amid systematic Su-30MKI losses, India is actively working on their modernization. Specifically, 84 fighters were planned to be updated independently under the Super Sukhoi program. In other words, only one-third of the total aircraft. This could indicate a general plan to gradually reduce the number of russian fighters with resource reallocation to other fighters. However, according to insider information, Delhi is now working out an option to update the entire fleet, with russia potentially performing modernization of the larger portion.
It should also be added that the highly anticipated mega-contract for 114 Rafales for India has not yet been signed. Instead, conversations have intensified regarding India’s possible procurement of russian Su-57s, which russia calls fifth-generation representatives.
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