MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2004
Russia begins delivery of Sukhoi kits
PTI
MOSCOW: Russia on Monday began the delivery of kits for the licenced production of state-of-the-art multirole fighters SU-30MKIs by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, a senior official said.
"First two kits have been airlifted on Monday and are scheduled to reach Nasik on Tuesday," president of IRKUT Corporation's Irkutsk-based aircraft factory Alexei Fyodorov said here.
The $3.5 billion Sukhoi technology transfer deal was signed between India and Russia on December 28, 2000.
The aircraft factory is simultaneously scheduled to deliver fully-assembled 10 SU-30MKI fighters to the Indian Air Force by the end of this year, when the first of 140 aircraft is scheduled to roll-out from HAL's Nasik factory.
Under the transfer deal, largest ever single defence contract signed between the two countries, HAL is getting licence for the production of all the components indigenously, including unique thrust vectoring AL-31FP Lyulka Saturn engines.
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