New Delhi
13 March 2006
As Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov prepares for his three-
day India visit starting Thursday, Kremlin hopes the MiG Corporation will stand a good
chance of bagging New Delhi's tender for purchasing over 126 multi-role combat aircraft.
France's "Rafale" and the United States' F-16 and F-18 are competing with Russia's MiG-
35 for this tender.
The Russian premier will visit India later this week to strengthen economic and political
ties. It would be the first high-level visit from Russia after the high-profile visit to India by
United States President George W Bush earlier this month.
Mr Fradkov is expected to call on the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and meet with
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. He is expected to discuss a "wide spectrum of
issues, mainly concerning interaction in economic and other spheres."
Sources said Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 10 signed an agreement with
Algeria for the supply of about 100 aircraft. They said India was likely to get a share in
that deal.
The sources said Russia was expected to source certain components after the
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) began manufacturing the Su-30MKI fighters under
licence in India.
"HAL has mastered production of Su-30MKI components that will be fitted on the aircraft
to be delivered to third countries," the sources said, adding that negotiations with
Thailand for the Su-30MKI were at the final stage.
"After conclusion of the contract with Algeria, MiG becomes leader of the Russian
aviation industry in terms of its order book as well as design and production facilities,"
the sources said.
Incidentally, the Mig Corporation's nearest competitors for the Algerian contract were
France's Mirage and Rafale.
Algeria has signed a contract for delivery of 49 MiG-29SMT multi-role fighters, 28 Su-
30MKI multifunctional fighters and 16 Yak-130 training aircraft. The sources said Algeria
is the third country to order Su-30MKI and MiG-29SMT and the first foreign country to
order Yak-130 trainers.
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