India has not deployed Prithvi: PM

PUNE, June 11: Prime Minister I K Gujral today categorically asserted that India had not deployed the Prithvi ballistic missile anywhere in...

PUNE, June 11: Prime Minister I K Gujral today categorically asserted that India had not deployed the Prithvi ballistic missile anywhere in the country or on the border.

He was addressing a press conference shortly after the induction of the first batch of eight Sukhoi Su-30 MK fighters into the Indian Air Force8217;s 24 Squadron at the Lohagaon air base near Pune.

8220;This propaganda that India has deployed Prithvi is false. India has the capability of manufacturing the Prithvi and it has not, I repeat not, deployed Prithvi in any part of India, more so near the border,8221; said Gujral, denying US media reports that India had deployed the missile in Punjab, close to the Pakistan border.

The Prime Minister said that the missile had not been deployed since India did not see any imminent threat to its defence.

However, he evaded a question regarding the army chief8217;s recent statement that Pakistan had already deployed it8217;s 280-km range Chinese M-11 tactical ballistic missiles.

Earlier addressing the small gathering before the induction, Gujral stated that the Sukhoi induction marked a landmark for the defence forces particularly the IAF and also for Indo-Russian co-operation.

Stating that it was after the gap of nearly a decade that a sophisticated aircraft was being inducted into the IAF, the PM stressed on indigenisation. The 1.8 billion dollar deal for 40 SU-30s 2 squadrons was signed by an Indian delegation at the Sukhoi plant in Irkutsk, Russia, in November last year. Three cobra-hooded Sukhoi SU-30s in mottled sky blue camouflage took to the skies with a roar of their afterburners, taking their place as the IAF8217;s frontline fighter in the sky for the next two decades at least.

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Defence officials agree that the only other event of greater significance to the IAF this century could be the first flight of the Light Combat Aircraft LCA later this year. Russia is also to provide electronics for the LCA programme as part of the transfer of technology arrangement for the Sukhoi.Codenamed Flanker8217; by NATO, the twin-seat SU-30s have a phenomenal operational radius of around 3000 km and are equipped with an inflight refuelling facility extending their range by another 1000 km.

Designed to beat most western fighters in combat, the giant Flanker is a multi-role fighter bomber and air superiority aircraft which can also be used in maritime strike. Later versions of the Mach 2 SU-30 are to be upgraded to the SU-35 variants featuring more powerful engines with axis symmetric thrust vectoring control. A contract for licence producing the aircraft at the HAL is also to be worked out soon.