Ageing MiG 25R develop quot;bulgesquot;

The IAF has approached Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd HAL MiG complex at Nashik to repair these aircraft with structural problems of skin bulges8217; in the airframe. HAL sources say that the bulges have occurred due to ageing.

The eight MiG-25R aircraft owned by the IAF are almost 15 years old. Air Force technical staff do only routine service and repair in the country and the more complex repairs are done in Russia.

In the HAL-IAF business relationship, the manufacturer is obliged to repair only those aircraft that it has built under license. Despite such an understanding, HAL last yearrepaired the IAF MiG-29 fighter interceptor aircraft which like the MiG 25R aircraft was imported from the former Soviet Union.

The Russian designed/built MiG 25R, codenamed Foxbat8217; by Nato forces, can fly up to 1,00,000 feet in order to evade normal anti-aircraft fire. Even most interceptor aircraft cannot fly to such heights.

Last May, the MiG 25R made news for violating Pakistani airspace and this resulted in sonic booms8217; creating a hiccup in Indo-Pakistan relations.