Loading…
Russia has offered India its Izdeliye 177S engine to replace the AL-31FP engines on the Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI fleet, pitched during President Putin's visit to New Delhi for the BRICS Summit.
The 177S is claimed to produce 14.5 tonnes of thrust, last up to 6,000 hours and cut fuel consumption by about 7%, while matching the AL-31FP's size and weight.
Matching dimensions mean the engine could be fitted without major airframe changes - relevant to the 'Super Sukhoi' upgrade of a fleet of around 260 aircraft.
HAL already licence-builds the AL-31FP; any switch will depend on India's evaluation of cost, integration, maintenance and technology transfer.
The pitch came as PM Modi and President Putin met on 11 September 2026 and agreed to deepen defence and technology cooperation.
Defence PSU under the Ministry of Defence; licence-builds the Su-30MKI (Nashik) and its AL-31FP engines (Koraput, Odisha)
Russian state defence-industrial corporation marketing the 177S engine
Operator of the Su-30MKI, a twin-engine multirole air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi
General Knowledge > Defence equipment and India's defence cooperation
GS Paper III > Defence technology, indigenisation; GS Paper II > India-Russia relations
Russian fighter engine ('Product 177S') offered for the Su-30MKI; 14.5 tonnes of thrust, up to 6,000-hour life
Thrust-vectoring engine of the Su-30MKI, licence-built by HAL at Koraput
India's planned upgrade programme for the Su-30MKI fleet