According to The Independent, Uganda has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India for the maintenance and technical support of the Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets Uganda purchased from Russia more than a decade ago. The MoU was signed on March 4 at the Indian High Commission in Kampala. Lt. Gen. Charles Lutaaya, Commander of Air Force in the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), signed on behalf of Uganda.
The maintenance will be done by the Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), The Independent reports, as the Indian company has a manufacturing license from Russia to build the fighter aircraft. The Indian High Commission on its Twitter account said the deal was the first major defence agreement with Uganda following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unveiling of ’10 Principles of India-Africa Engagement’ in the Ugandan Parliament on July 25, 2018. Financial details of the deal remain a secret but the arrangement is raising debate among military analysts about the future of these Sukhoi Su-30MK2s.
As reported by Aleksandar Vladic, in April 2010, Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport signed a preliminary agreement with Uganda for six Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter jets. But protracted negotiations, particularly over price, meant that a deal worth a reported US$740 million was only signed in May 2011. Su-30MK2 Uganda Air Force numbers: AF 011, AF 015, AF 019,