IAF Su‑30 MKI Fighter Jet Crashes in Assam, 2 Pilots Killed

Two pilots have been killed after a Su‑30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Assam's Karbi Anglong district on Thursday evening.

Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar have lost their lives.

"Two pilots killed in crash of Sukhoi-30 fighter jet in Assam, aircraft''s debris found past midnight," a Defence official told PTI.

The jet had taken off from Jorhat airbase on a routine training mission but lost radar and radio contact shortly after departure. Communication with the Russian‑origin aircraft was last recorded at 7:42 p.m., officials confirmed. The crash site is believed to be around 60 kilometres from Jorhat.

Developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi, Su-30MKI is a two-seater multirole long-range fighter. It is now built under licence by HAL for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF operates a fleet of over 260 Su-30MKI jets.

In a brief statement, the IAF said: "The Su‑30MKI, which was on a training mission, crashed in the area of Karbi Anglong, Assam. Search operations are underway." Authorities have not yet released information about the fate of the two pilots on board.

Teams from the IAF, local police, and disaster response units have been mobilised to locate the wreckage and rescue crew members. Dense forest terrain in Karbi Anglong is reportedly complicating the search effort.

The Su‑30MKI is a twin‑seat, long‑range multirole fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi Design Bureau and produced under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force. It is considered one of the backbone aircraft of India's fighter fleet, capable of carrying advanced weaponry and performing diverse missions.

This incident adds to a series of crashes involving Sukhoi jets in recent years. In June 2024, a Su‑30 fighter went down in Maharashtra's Nashik district. Earlier, in January 2023, another Sukhoi‑30 crashed after taking off from Gwalior airbase. Each accident has raised concerns about operational safety and maintenance challenges associated with the fleet.

The IAF has ordered a detailed inquiry into Thursday's crash to determine the cause. Preliminary reports suggest no distress signal was received before communication was lost, pointing to a sudden technical failure or other unforeseen issue.

Local residents in Karbi Anglong had earlier claimed that they heard a loud noise around the time of the crash, though visibility in the area was poor due to evening conditions.