There is a long history of crashes of SU-30 MKI and Mirage-2000s fighter aircraft. So far, 12 Sukhoi and 14 Mirage fighter jets have crashed in India. The first SU-30 MKI crashed in 2009.
At least 42 Indian Armed forces personnel were killed in 45 accidents involving aircraft and helicopters in the last five years ending 2022. The Indian Air Force (IAF) accounts for 29 of them, while the Army and Navy saw 12 casualties respectively. Five MiG-21 aircraft crashed in 2021, resulting in the deaths of three pilots.
In addition to MiG-21, the other aircraft that crashed in 2021 included a Mirage 2000, two Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters, two Mi-17s, and a Cheetah helicopter.
The year 2021 saw the number of accidents jumping to ten from five in 2020. Incidentally, the first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021.
The SU-30 MKI and Mirage-2000 are frontline fighter jets of the Indian Air Force. The SU-30 is of Russian origin, and Mirage comes from France. The deal for SU-30s was inked in 1996. The induction of these fighter planes started in 1997 and its improved variant SU-30 MKI in 2005. Currently, the IAF has 272 SU-30s — Wolf of the Skies— and 50 Mirage-2000. The deal for Mirage was inked between India and France in 1985.
It is a multirole, fourth-generation jet fighter and has several variants which are used by many countries including India, UAE, Qatar, Brazil, Taiwan, Greece, Peru, and Egypt. The Mirages are based in Gwalior. Nearly all of them have undergone a mid-life upgrade. Incidentally, Dassault, which manufactured the Mirages, has now delivered 36 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft to IAF.
Mirages played a key role in destroying enemy bunkers in the mountains during the 1999 Kargil war. More recently, nearly 12 Mirages carried out surgical strikes in 2019 in Balakot in Pakistan against terrorist hideouts.
As for the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, it is rated one of the safest aircraft with the IAF. The last known crash of the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI was reported in August 2019 in Assam.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a multi-role combat fighter aircraft jointly developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force. Sukhoi Su-30 is called “Air Dominance” fighter by IAF. After the arrival of the Sukhoi in the IAF Fleet, there was a decisive tilt of the balance of power in favour of the IAF in the region. Its super-maneuverability, its armory of advanced beyond visual range missiles, and its extraordinary range of 3000 km (extendable to 8000 km with aerial refueling) are aspects that make it the “Wolf of the Skies”.