Indian Air Force’s Integration Of Israeli Derby Missiles On Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Hits Russian Roadblock

With India planning to arm its Sukhoi Su-30 MKI frontline fighter jets with Israeli Derby missiles, the Indian Air Force (IAF) may first have to take permission of the Russian government as per the license technical documentation of the aircraft, reports Sputnik News.

As the per documentation, if India wants to integrate any third-country armament in the aircraft, it would need permission of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). HAL currently produces Sukhois under licence production from Russia.

The Su-30 MKI jet is currently equipped with the R-77 RVE missile. But its limited range has prompted the IAF to integrate Israel made I-Derby missile on the jets by 2022.

The IAF is also unable to integrate the French made MBDA Mica BVR missiles, fitted to the Mirage 2000 for the Sukhoi jets due to the restrictions imposed upon by the French government.

Meantime, the OEM of Vympel missiles, part of Russia's consolidated JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV), has offered its RVV-MD short-range missile, the RVV-SD medium-range missile, and the RVV-BD long-range missile to India for Sukhoi jets.

The I-Derby is a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) which has range of 100 km and is considered to be a highly potent weapon for medium and short range engagements,.

It is equipped with a software-defined radar seeker and a dual-pulse solid rocket motor to turn the missile into a "fire and forget" weapon under all weather conditions.