Indian Air Force admits Su-30 poor serviceability

The Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI is plagued by frequent engine failure-in-air and engine-related problems and poor operational serviceability.
Five twin-engine Su-30MKIs have crashed since the platform began to enter service in 1997.
The problems were related to faulty bearings and low-pressure oil.
Metal fatigue caused these bearings, which are incorporated to reduce friction between the fighter's moving parts, to chip or fragment and the resulting particles contaminated the oil flow.
Of 69 Su-30MKI engine failures investigated since 2012, 33 were due to finding [metal] chips in the oil, 11 due to vibration in the engine, and 8 because of low pressure of lubricating oil.
The IAF operates 200 Su-30MKIs, but of these only 110 or 55% were operationally available due to poor serviceability.
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