India to buy 42 Su-30MKIs, 71 Mi-17 V5 helicopters from Russia

New Delhi: India is all set to procure 42 Su-30 MKI combat aircraft and 71 medium-lift helicopters from Russia.

The issue was discussed during meeting between Defence Minister AK Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov in New Delhi and an agreement in this regard is expected to be signed during the visit of President Vladimir Putin on November 1, sources said. The 42 Su-30MKIs will add to the firepower of the Indian Air Force and after this, the number of these aircraft will be around 272, they said. During the meeting, the two sides were also understood to have discussed the upgrade programme of the existing inventory of these aircraft in the IAF. The discussion for procurement of 71 Mi-17 V5 helicopters for the IAF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was also discussed during the meeting on Tuesday. Under the procurement, India will buy 59 choppers for the IAF whereas the remaining will be used by the MHA and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) most probably foranti-Naxal operations. PTI