Russia Offers 400km Range Kh-69 Standoff Stealth Missiles for India's Su-30MKI, Complementing IAF's BrahMos and SCALP Arsenal

In a significant move to enhance India's air combat capabilities, Russia has formally offered its advanced Kh-69 stealth cruise missile to be integrated with the Indian Air Force's (IAF) fleet of Su-30MKI fighter jets.

This offer is part of a broader effort to deepen the long-standing defence partnership between Moscow and New Delhi and aims to equip India's primary air superiority fighter with a potent long-range strike weapon.

Recent military engagements have highlighted the critical need for robust stand-off weapons, which allow aircraft to strike targets from outside the range of enemy air defences.

While the IAF's French-made Rafale jets, armed with SCALP cruise missiles, have demonstrated considerable effectiveness, a need was identified to bolster the strike power of the Su-30MKI fleet.

The primary weapon for this role, the BrahMos-A cruise missile, is highly powerful but its large size and weight limit the number of missiles that can be carried.

The Kh-69 is a modern, subsonic cruise missile designed with stealth features to minimise its radar signature, allowing it to penetrate heavily defended airspace.

Originally developed for Russia's new-generation Su-57 stealth fighter, the missile has been proven in combat, with reports confirming its use in the conflict in Ukraine.

Its design allows it to fly at very low altitudes to avoid detection, and it uses a combination of satellite and inertial navigation systems for precise targeting.

This offer is particularly noteworthy as it provides a direct solution for upgrading the capabilities of the Su-30MKI, which forms the backbone of the IAF with a fleet of over 260 aircraft.

Russian officials have confirmed that the Kh-69, weighing approximately 710 kg, can be fitted onto the external wing pylons of the Su-30MKI without requiring major structural changes. This makes the integration process more straightforward and cost-effective.

The introduction of the Kh-69 would provide the IAF with a strategic advantage by complementing its existing arsenal.

It offers a lighter and stealthier alternative to the supersonic BrahMos-A, allowing Su-30MKI jets to carry a larger number of missiles per mission.

This enhances the fleet's ability to conduct deep-penetration strikes against high-value targets such as command centres and air defence installations.

The potential acquisition of the Kh-69 would create a more versatile and layered stand-off strike capability for the Indian Air Force.

The combination of the heavyweight, high-speed BrahMos, the long-range stealthy SCALP, and the new, tactically flexible Kh-69 would significantly strengthen India's strategic deterrence and aerial dominance in the region.

Negotiations are expected to progress, marking another chapter in the robust India-Russia military-technical cooperation.

Kh-69 Missile Specifications​

• Weight: Approximately 710 kg
• Warhead: Up to 310 kg
• Operational Range: 300 - 400 km
• Guidance:Satellite Navigation (GPS/GLONASS) with an electro-optical seeker for terminal guidance
• Launch Platform Compatibility: Su-57 (Internal Bay), Su-30MKI (External Pylons)

 

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[sanket]

Okay, but what about Nirbhay, which is going to have a range of 1000 km and above? Both are different. BrahMos-A is almost thrice the speed of Kh-59/SCALP, while Kh-59/SCALP are subsonic cruise missiles. Speed is making the difference between the two missiles.

BrahMos-A has made a good impact in recent Operation Sindoor, though it is expensive and can be carried by only a few Su-30 MKIs that were modified to carry this heavyweight BrahMos-A. After developing BrahMos-NG, all Su-30MKIs, MiG-29s, and even Tejas MK1A can also carry BrahMos-NG, which will have weight reduction as well as lower cost compared to BrahMos-A. By that time, Nirbhay with an indigenous engine will be ready for induction too.

If Rafale wins the MRFA, then SCALP should be produced under licence. But the question is, how many cruise missiles are to be produced? That's why autonomy of weapon integration is needed with a universal weapon package for all platforms, rather than having different cruise missiles for different platforms. A single solution is the only answer, whether it is the French Rafale/Mirage-2000, Russian Su-30 MKI/MiG-29, or indigenous Tejas MK1A/Tejas MK2: it's the Nirbhay Air Launch version missile with a strike range of 1000 to 1500 km.

 

[Flanker]

No need develop CATS Hunter quickly

 

[Somnath Sinhababu]

India should purchase it. Look, we cannot wait until our own indigenous options develop; it will take time. We have to buy weapons as a stop-gap purchase. SCALP has a very limited range. CATS Hunter is under development and will take time. The same is true for AMCA. India should buy SU-57 from Russia along with some state-of-the-art missiles; it's common sense.

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Procure it for Su-30 and MiG-29. Later, develop our own for use with Tejas.

 

[Anant]

Absolutely no need. The Rudram-II and a land-focussed variant of the NASM-MR (with extended range) are more than sufficient for the role.

 

[vasu gali]

Better to consider the Kh-69 missiles on Su-30MKI in place of the proposed BrahMos on 20 Su-30s to avoid modification.

 

[P.K Senapati]

Kh69 Cruise missile is stealth and has range upto 400km It can be integrated to Su30 and carriage in internal wepon bay of Su57 stealth fighter and AMCA.
Suitable for make in India with private participation.

 

[Rinku Pandey]

India should purchase it. Look, we cannot wait until our own indigenous options develop; it will take time. We have to buy weapons as a stop-gap purchase. SCALP has a very limited range. CATS Hunter is under development and will take time. The same is true for AMCA. India should buy SU-57 from Russia along with some state-of-the-art missiles; it's common sense.

SCALP has a limited range? Its range is between 250 km to 560 km. One of the best missiles. See damages done in Operation Sindoor and the Ukraine-Russia war.

 

[Vishwanath Vijay Thomre]

No doubt that we are making progress in defense capabilities, but it will take minimum 2 years after which the picture will be very very promising where will definitely have edge with our technology. But we really cant wait 2 long years. Today the global scenario has changed and it has become very volatile we must identify and procure on war front all the stop gap requirements for our armed forces, Army, Navy and Airforce. There is no doubt that air superiority has become the new domain to have an edge in any war like situation this has been proved by Op Sindoor. My request to MoD and GOI will be to fast track all the stopgap requirements procurements to strengthen the armed forces.

 

[Vivek Singh]

Please no more imports of cruise missiles.

We have an indigenous engine called STFE Manik for subsonic cruise missiles. This Engine should be standardised and continuously improved.

We have also mastered other aspects of a cruise missile like the flight control system, seeker, and warhead.

All we need to work on now is the stealth airframe. We do have some experience in this regard too, with initial work on AMCA.

We have most of the basic ingredients to make a stealthy air launcher cruise missile. There is no need to import a new missile system.

Also, there is no guarantee that Russian missile will be available sooner than indigenous ones as Russia is in the midst of a war and its factories can’t keep up with the demand of its own forces. Delivery of every Russian equipment is delayed. Russia will happily promise early deliveries but ones orders are placed, it will delay them.

 

[DefStock]

Very good offer. Govt of india is seriously considering su57. The Astra mk3/rudram mk3/star/brahmos ng is a formidable line up but not possible before 2028 until then the R37M + Kh 69 seems very strong

 

[Rama Hota]

We need Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for SU-30 MKI, with a limited number of KH-69s.

 

[Sandeep]

Our main focus should be on developing our own long range stealth missiles as we have developed an engine, flight control, software etc and we have also developed the stealth material. We can buy a small number of about 50-100 KH69 missiles if it’s cheaper than any western missile which are mostly very expensive. We can also look to manufacture the missile indigenously and export them to other countries at a cheaper price.

On top of that we are already developing the standard air to surface Rudram MK1-3 missiles which can be used against radars, bunkers, buildings, critical infrastructure or any target it decides at hypersonic speeds which will make it impossible to intercept.

There has been some discussion on developing a MK4 missile with a longer range which is good as it keeps the jet far away from any type of interception from a SAM or a jet.