Moscow
24 December 2005
Russia says upgradation of MiG 21s will be
completed early next year. The MiG Corporation is also setting up a
"service centre" in India to address the problem of spares for the ageing
fleet of Indian Air Force.
A top official of MiG Corporation told this newspaper that new safety
features incorporated in this second generation fighter will make the MiG
21s -- described as "Flying Coffins" after many crashes -- more safe to fly.
"We have paid attention to the issue of [accidents] and have eliminated
[those] causes," Mr Vladimir P Vypryazhkin, deputy director-general and
general designer of the Russian aircraft corporation said.
He said that during upgradation of MiG 21s, flight safety measures will be
undertaken by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in collaboration with
Russian specialists. The Indian Air Force has a large fleet of these
fighters.
"After upgradation, the MiG 21s can be used for five to 10 years," Mr
Vypryazhkin observed. He added that about 75 per cent of the aircraft
have already been upgraded and only a few remained.
Attributing accidents to lack of upgradation, he asserted that "since 2003-
2004 the attrition rate has improved." An analysis of the statistics, he
noted, would suggest that the situation has become better by four to five
times.
The official, who heads the marketing, sales and post-sales service of
MiG Corporation, said there was "no concern for safety of aircraft" and the
IAF's fleet of MiG 29s would be the next to be upgraded.
The MiG 29s, he said, were "reaching [the] middle of [their] service life"
and this, therefore, was the right time to upgrade them in order to improve
their combat capability and to "comply with [the] requirements of today".
"We expect a final agreement [for upgradation of MiG 29] early next year,"
Mr Vypryazhkin said. "We are trying to involve Indian production facilities
and Indian capabilities as much as we can," he added.
To address the problem of spares, the MiG Corporation would also set up
a service centre in India, possibly as a joint venture, for which
discussions about legal and organisational aspects are currently on.
The idea, Mr Vypryazhkin observed, was to set up service centre in a
customer's premises, which would ensure quick supply of spares and
also offer specialised facilities for repairs at various levels.
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