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Even as the IAF is grappling with its first Sukhoi mishap, India has decided to hold talks with Russia to fit BrahMos cruise missile on to the Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft. "The mishap will have no impact on our plans to equip the BrahMos on the Su-30 MKI. We are holding talks with Russians at the end of this month to discuss installation of BrahMos launcher on the heavy air superiority fighter," a Defence Ministry source told.On April 30, a Pune-based Su-30 MKI crashed over the Pokharan range in Rajasthan after carrying out a routine firing range, killing the co-pilot, Wing Commander P.S. Narah. After the incident, the IAF has kept its entire fleet of Sukhois on ground and is jointly investigating the cause behind the accident with Russian experts from the Sukhoi Corporation. India has sent two of its Su-30 MKIs to Russia where the airframe of the aircraft will be modified to accommodate world's only supersonic cruise missile on the aircraft's under-fuselage. The supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, is developed jointly by India and Russia. "The work is expected to be completed on the aircraft by early 2010 but we have not set any deadline yet for competing the programme," an official said. The aerial version of the BrahMos will be nine metres long and once fitted, can auto-launch itself towards the target after being released from the aircraft by the pilot. After being fitted on an aircraft, BrahMos will be the only cruise missile with the capability of being launched from land, sea and air. The missile has already been inducted by the Army and the Navy. With a range of 290 km, the missile has a capability of carrying 300 kg conventional warheads at a speed of around 2.8 Mach.
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What type of structural modification is needed for Sukhoi SU -30MKI?
For the airborne version DRDO had to reduce the mass of the missile and to ensure aerodynamic stability after its separation from the aircraft it will have additional tail fins. The air-launched platform has its own initial speed during the launch of the missile, so we have reduced the size of the booster.
Two Su-30MKIs of the IAF have been sent to Russia for retrofitting. Not many major structural changes would have to be made to the Su-30 to make it capable of carrying the BrahMos as the jet already had a hook and loader assembly in its belly. A team of experts from the IAF, BrahMos Aerospace, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Sukhoi Design Bureau had been formed to evolve an integrated hook assembly in the jet so that it could carry two BrahMos missiles on its wings. Apart from the mechanical assembly of hooks and straps to house the long and heavy version of the missile, slight beefing up of the wings to sustain the drag/G-forces at the same time, a suitable electronic system or a fire control system linked to the cockpit avionics would have to be designed and engineered.
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