The identity of the missing pilots has not been disclosed and the worst is feared.
The two frontline combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training mission in Morena on Saturday, resulting in the death of a wing commander while two other pilots ejected safely.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday took her maiden sortie in a fighter aircraft at Tezpur air base in Assam.
If the new request for 18 more fighters translates into a contract, the Sukhoi-30MKI fleet size will go up to 14 squadrons, or 290 fighters.
IAF pilots would no longer have to fly deep into heavily defended airspace to strike enemy bases, they can launch a Brahmos from as far away as 295 km.
The airport, being developed by the Adani Group, is expected to start commercial operations early next year.
The debris of the two aircraft fell in Pahargarh area in Morena, 75 kilometres from the district headquarters, while some parts also fell in Bharatpur, just across the border in neighbouring Rajasthan.
Several persons fainted and emergency workers carried them in stretches and provided care in shelters. Over 30 people were rushed to nearby government hospitals with symptoms of dehydration.
Top HAL sources say the AMCA, which is being developed as the IAF's next-generation stealth fighter, is slated to be assembled at HAL Nashik.
Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, chief of the air staff, flew a sortie in an IAF Rafale fighter while FASF Chief General Stephane Mille flew in an IAF Su-30MKI fighter.
There were no casualties, police said, adding both the pilots ejected safely before the plane hit ground.
A fighter aircraft's lethality in air-to-air combat is governed by the air-to-air missile that it carries. Since the Independence, the Indian Air Force has mounted French, Russian and British missiles on its fighters. On Sunday, an IAF Sukhoi-30MKI fighter conducted the first test launch of the indigenous Astra air-to-air missile, which the Defence R&D Organisation is developing at its missile cluster in Hyderabad.
IAF sources said the Sukhoi had taken off from Jodhpur at 1645 hours for a routine training sortie and it crashed around 1730 hours.
'At Aero India 2025, be prepared to be inspired, awed, and educated,' says Air Commodore Rohith Vijayadev, Air Officer Commanding Yelahanka. 'Aero India 2025 promises to be more than just an air show; it is a celebration of innovation, collaboration, and India's growing leadership in global defence and aviation,' notes Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
French officials believe the campaign against Rafale was part of a coordinated disinformation drive by China and Pakistan, although their State involvement has not been established.
Here are glimpses from India's biennial military exhibition.
Built by HAL with Russian technology, the frontline twin-seater Sukhoi 30MKI was rolled at the Ozar airbase in Nashik.
Indian Air Force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a foreign aircraft with its origin in Iran that was moving towards New Delhi's airspace.
The enduring relationship between the two countries have survived the disintegration of the erstwhile USSR in 1991, the end of the Cold War and the regime change in both countries, points out Rup Narayan Das.
HAL will build each Su-30 at just Rs 4.25 billion. The IAF is paying Rs 11.25 billion per Rafale, excluding the price of weapons and logistics.
HAL has integrated the ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) for the Tejas Mark 1A. The Tejas Mark 1A will carry twin ASRAAM missiles with a range of 60 to 70 kilometres.
Squadron Leader D Pankaj and Flight Lieutenant S Achudev could not initiate ejection before the crash.
Sukhoi-30MKI fighters will be based in Thanjavur. Tejas Mark 1 aircraft will be based in Sulur. The Rafale squadron will be based in Ambala.
The fleet of 40 Sukhoi jet will undergo structural modifications at the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for integration of the missile on them.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday flew in a Sukhoi-30MKI supersonic fighter jet of the Indian Air Force from the Halwara airbase in Punjab.
In the event of a war with China, AMCA deep strikes would target China's rail and road links with Tibet, isolating PLA divisions there.
Strengthening India's presence over the Indian Ocean region, Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday inaugurated the first fighter aircraft base here in southern India where the IAF is stationing its most lethal Su-30MKI combat aircraft.
The move is seen as a gamechanger in guarding the strategically important Indian Ocean Region.
The "live firing" of the missile was carried out in close coordination with the Indian Navy, the IAF said.
Several aircraft such as Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Sukhoi, Jaguar, Rafale, IL-76, C-130J, and Hawk displayed their skillful manoeuvres, amid a thundering applause from the gathering.
The IAF has lost seven of the 240 Sukhoi-30MKI jets inducted till now.
The country's first woman defence minister sat in the rear seat behind the pilot and was wearing the pilot's G-suit.
Both the pilots ejected safely.
"By triangulation, we have located the area which is about 5-km radius circle and it has been identified based on the last contact with the air traffic control," Chavan, Union minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, told reporters
The Sukhoi-30 Mki was formally inducted at the Air Force Station at Chabua base in Assam on Tuesday. The induction was done through a ceremony with the inaugural flight of the SU 30 MKI taking off which also performed a overshoot before landing, according to a defence source.
There is increasing friction between the IAF's military requirements, and the AAI's need to provide infrastructure to many more airlines.
A Sukhoi fighter plane used for the training purpose crashed at Kolwadi near Pune in the Tuesday evening.
In a major technology leap, Indian defence scientists are ready to go ahead with the first full test flight of its indigenously developed air to air beyond visual range missile, ASTRA. The test-flight from an IAF Sukhoi fighter aircraft could be undertaken "anytime in the next 45 days", top DRDO officials said.
The integration of BrahMos with the Su-30MKI make the Indian Air Force the only air force in the world in procession of a supersonic cruise missile system.
India's frontline combat aircraft Sukhoi-30 fleet was on Friday cleared for flying after being grounded for nearly a month following a crash near Pune.
