New Delhi, Mar 6 – A Su-30 MKI fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed on Thursday in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, officials confirmed. The aircraft went missing shortly after taking off from the Jorhat airbase, and search operations are currently underway. Details about the pilots remain unavailable.
The IAF stated that communication with the Russian origin aircraft was lost at 7:42 pm. The jet, on a routine training mission, crashed approximately 60 km from Jorhat.
The Su-30MKI is a two seater, multirole long range fighter developed by Russian manufacturer Sukhoi and now produced under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the IAF. The Indian Air Force operates a fleet of more than 260 Su-30MKI jets.
This incident follows previous crashes of Sukhoi aircraft, including one in Nashik, Maharashtra, in June 2024, and another in January 2023 after takeoff from the Gwalior airbase.