An Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighter with two pilots on board went missing in northeastern India close to the border with China on 23 May while on a routine training flight.
IAF officials said the twin-engine fighter took off around 1030 h local time from Tezpur Air Force Station in the state of Assam, and lost radar and radio contact with air traffic control some 30 minutes later.
"Ground action has been initiated to search for the aircraft some 60 km from the air base," a senior IAF officer told Jane's some seven hours after the fighter had gone missing, adding that search teams have been deployed in the mountainous terrain close to where the aircraft last made contact.
Senior IAF pilots who have operated in the area said the weather in Tezpur and the adjoining regions can be "treacherous" at this time of the year, with overhanging clouds dominating ahead of the monsoon rains expected in June.
Six Su-30MKIs have crashed since the platform was inducted into IAF service in 1997, with the last crash taking place in March in the western state of Rajasthan.
