The frontline fighter jet SU-30MKI has seen 35 engine failures in the last two years forcing the IAF and Russian manufacturer to revise the maintenance drill and improve serviceability to prevent malfunction. The IAF has also procured 25 new engines with modified technology from Russia which has suggested some modifications in production of new engines.
Giving this information in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday in response to a question by BJP MP Chandan Mitra, who raised concern over mid-air failure of SU-30 jets, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the malfunction took place due to at least three reasons which the Hindustan Aeronautics limited (HAl) and original manufacturer in Russia have managed to rectify. Elaborating upon the causes, he said in 33 out of 69 such incidents over the last few years, the reason was due to chips in the oil, vibration in engine bearings in 11 cases and low pressure of lubricating oil in eight other cases.
These faults were addressed to by going in for better quality of engine oil and minor adjustments and repairs in ball bearings fitted into the engines by perforating four to five small holes, the Minister said. The rectification saw serviceability of the SU-30 going up by seven per cent from 49 per cent in the last eight to nine months, Parrikar said, adding the objective was to touch the 70 per cent mark by the year end to ensure fully operational aircraft in shortest possible time.
Replying to a supplementary by Mitra about joint production of SU-30MKI in India, the Minister said as per the contract, the first 50 planes were bought from the original manufacturer and the remaining 150 were manufactured by HAl in India. The IAF at present has 200 aircraft and plans to have another 72 SU-30s in the next few years, he informed the House.
He also said engine malfunction or failure mid flight of SU-30s takes place after 500 hours of flying and the recent measures saw the IAF improving the operational performance to more than 900 hours. Parrikar said the overhauling of the engines takes place after 1,000 hours of flying. He also made it clear that since SU-30 is a twin engine aircraft, one engine failure does lead to a crash but the aircraft has to land immediately. Answering a query by Praful Patel (NCP) about paucity of spare parts from Russia after disintegration of erstwhile Soviet Union, Parrikar said the Government is now procuring these spare parts from western countries like France and Israel.
Fielding questions about two new ordnance factories at Nalanda in Bihar and Korwa in Uttar Pradesh not starting production, the Minister said a total investment of Rs1,216 crore was already made on the two projects. He said efforts were now on to start production in Nalanda factory adding it could not be done in the last few years as the main technology supplier Denel of South Africa was blacklisted due to alleged corruption charges. Similarly, the plant in Korwa could not start as the factory was set up without forging a partnership with a vendor who was to supply technology for manufacturing rifles and carbines.