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It is from captive trials of HBJ, that is why it has a full A2A load out in the picture. It doesn't normally fly like that unless on high alert.

SAP 518 was scrapped in 2015 so I don't know what you are on about. MKI has been completely reliant on the Elta pods since then. The pod you see in the 2019 photograph was dummy trials for the HBJ pod by DARE. If you had read the Livefist article I posted you would know that but you are too...

It all begins with the Russian SAP-518 jammer pod that Moscow supplied with the Su-30MKI. After grappling for years with the pod, the Indian Air Force finally in 2015 realised it simply couldn’t use them for two reasons. One, they were heavy — and when slung onto wingtip hardpoints, they cut...

Mach 1.1 in clean config isn't a usable supercruise.

They never said they weren't putting AESA on it, they just said they weren't getting Russian radar. They could put ELM-2052 1500 module variant for F-15.

Unless they are skipping over Russia and going for Western upgrades I don't see how it could be anything other than cost savings. To skip 117S is direct evidence of that. I fully expected Super 30 to bring MKI up to Su-35 standard.

The same reason they are skipping 117S... price. This is going to be an upgrade on the cheap to save money for new aircraft acquisitions.

There are over 400 local suppliers producing 6000 components worth $12.5 million for each MKI. You can't just replace that kind of eco-system. Those SMEs will go under without government support to retool for different production lines.

Are they really going to close the production line?

Since when were Soviet fighters designed to be multi-role? It was more of an after-thought than an actual design choice.

You are correct, the RCS will always be great enough that Su-30 will never sneak into an engagement. It will always be the first one detected. This is the same story for the F-15. The way to cope with that is to use the same brute force tactics the Americans use. This is the same air...

Iran made plenty of claims but they never could prove them. During the overthrow of the Shah the US technicians sabotaged most of the AIM-54s on their way out which makes their claims all the more skeptical. The USN used the missile twice in combat and both launches failed to hit their targets...

It is the FAB-250, the article clearly states it is a 250kg bomb, not 500.

“Each HAL-built Su-30MKI fighter costs around $70.3 million, where as a Russia-supplied fighter costs around $42.15 million,” the senior Air Force official said. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/08/15/an-indian-facility-that-makes-su-30mki-jets-may-shut-down-toppling-400-local-suppliers

There is not going to be any separate integration when they are in the middle of deciding an upgrade configuration. It will be part of the upgrade.

They are considering it as India specific enhancements of the Super 30 upgrade. Once it gets a new reliable set of engines it makes sense.

If they did fly non-stop then we will know he is full of it.

That isn't the point of this discussion. We are trying to discover if MKIs are running their engines for long durations to find out if he is lying about the safety restrictions.

Did the MKIs that recently flew to France fly without landing in between? They were flying with an Ilyushin full of spare parts.

During the Balakot strike the M2000s flew in a strike package of 12 aircraft, half of those were loaded with bombs while the other half provided escort and jamming. It wasn't MiG-29 or Sukhoi protecting them but other Mirages. As they are data linked the Mirages can talk to each other, the...