When Indian Su-30MKI face British Eurofighter Typhoon

The meetings of the Indian su-30mki with the Eurofighter Typhoon of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) have a special historical connotation. On the one hand, the days of the brutal colonial rule of the British Crown are still fresh in Indian memories. On the other hand, it was the Royal Air Force that helped establish its own Indian Air Force in the mid 30s. Up to the beginning of the 50s, Indian national units were part of the RAF structure and were called “Royal”.

Training battles of Indian pilots Squadron No. 2 on four Su-30MKIs, with British Typhoons from the “FGR4” RAF squadron, took place at the Coningsby Air Force Base in Britain, in the summer of 2015. As part of the Indradanush exercises, it was planned to practice a number of small operations, including landing and technical aspects. But the highlight of the program should have been exhibition fights between modern fighters representing different aviation schools.

The atmosphere at this aviation festival was quite friendly, but the RAF bulletin defense-aerospace.com noted some “electricity” and “overcharged fighting” of Indian pilots. They could be understood. Despite their common roots, both teams professed a different philosophy of air combat. 

The battles took place in a rather intense manner, albeit with a number of limitations. Some training fights involved up to 20 aircraft. from which we can conclude that the “dryers” often had to act in the minority. Various situations in the air and attacks on ground targets were also worked out. The results of the exercises are classified. The British pilots, who first saw the new Indian cars so close, spoke of the latest Flankers with admiration and some surprise:

RAF Typhoon Flight pilot Lieutenant Mike Haimour in an interview with defense-aerospace.com:

This is just fantastic. Seeing other pilots doing such things on another unknown plane comparable to the Typhoon. The Indian car is incredibly impressive. This is a very good and dangerous fighter, although the Typhoon is quite comparable to it. “

Our pilot (IAF) in their interviews, immediately after the training battles spoke a lot about the useful joint experience and friendship of peoples. At the same time, as British newspapers caustically noted, they “did not hide smugness.” Thunder erupted later. when the journalists of the British edition of “The Independent” managed to find out the reason for this triumphant appearance of the Indians. According to the commander of the Su-30MKI group in Britain, the captain of “Arjid” Asiu – “In the battles where we worked against each other, the British were defeated with a zero score.”

Even more deafening information has appeared on the large Indian military portal bharat-rakshak.сom. Dryings directly against Eurofighter Typhoon won dry 12 times, leaving the British no chance of even one against two.

While the RAF command remained silent, experts defended the honor of the British Air Force. “Accounts in the spirit of cricket look impressive, but such statements must be approached critically, since they, of course, do not reflect the full scale of the combat potential of fighters. But it should be remembered that in the right hands, “The Dry are a very serious threat,” said Tony Osbourne, a well-known specialist, editor of Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.

However, no one began to dispute the result claimed by the our coutry , and conversations boiled down to the fact that it was unethical to give out classified information. After this i think we made the right decision when we abandoned Eurofighter in January 2012 as part of the largest tender for light fighter MMRCA.