Sukhoi fighter jets have faced midair engine trouble: Manohar Parrikar

NEW DELHI: India's frontline fighter aircraft Su30 MKI was forced to land on single engine 34 times since April 1, 2014 due to engine trouble mid-air, government said today.

The fleet of twin-engine aircraft has encountered mid-air engine problems due to which single-engine landings were effected, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in reply to a written question in Lok Sabha.

There have been 34 occasions between April 1, 2014 and March 31 this year, when Sukhoi 30 MK-I fighter jets were forced to land on single engine due to mid-air engine problems.

The operational reliability improvement programme is pursued regularly with Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), he said.

IAF has also finalised long term repair agreement with Russian OEMs to improve availability of aircraft for operational use.

The Minister said the OEM has introduced a number of measures to resolve the technical issues that have led to engine problems.

"The OEM has offered certain modifications or technological improvements for implementation in the production of new aeroengines and during overhaul of engines. The modifications in the process of overhaul and manufacturing, proposed by Russian designers, have been implemented at HAL and OEM," Parrikar said.

The OEM has also advised certain precautions, predictive maintenance during exploitation of aeroengines which have been implemented by the IAF, he said.