As India aims to modernise the Indian Air Force (IAF) and its fleet, the Defence Ministry is considering a proposal to integrate the Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs with Russia's RVV air-to-air missiles that would allow the fighter jets to hit targets at 300 kilometres in the air. This could be discussed with Russian officials during President Vladimir Putin's upcoming India visit for the BRICS Summit.
According to a report by news agency ANI, the IAF is looking to upgrade its air-to-air weaponry to counter Pakistan's PL-15 long range, beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile. The Pakistani Air Force (PAF) uses the PL-15, a Chinese-origin missile, on its Chengdu J-10CE and JF-17 Block III fighter aircraft.
The PL-15s, as per the available details, can engage between targets 200 and 300 kilometres, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 5. However, reports suggest that the version that is used by the PAF can also hit targets within a range of 145 kilometres.
During the four-day military conflict with India in May 2025, the Pakistani military had used the PL-15s and some unverified reports claimed that its debris was found in Punjab's Hoshiarpur; however, these could not be independently verified by India TV Digital.
How the IAF plans to counter PL-15s?
For PL-15s, the IAF is looking to integrate the Su-30s with RVV BD missiles, which is an ultra-long-range, heavy-weight, air-to-air missile. The RVV missiles have three categories: RVV-MD (Short-Range), RVV-AE / RVV-SD (Medium-Range), and RVV-BD (Long-Range). The IAF is only considering the RVV-BDs, though.
Sources, quoted by news agency ANI, have said the RVV BD missiles on Su-30s will help the IAF achieve extended stand-off engagement capabilities. These missiles can target Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and other spy planes in the air at hypersonic speeds of around 6 Mach.
The Su-30s remain the IAF's backbone and played a major role during Operation Sindoor, helping the Indian military destroy multiple Pakistani air bases with their long-range air-to-ground payloads, including the BrahMos air-launched missiles and the Rampage.
India is also working on two separate projects for modernising the fleet, after which they would be at an advanced level and would be able to see and strike at longer distances than before.
ALSO READ:
