THE Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Friday that a fighter jet, which was on a training mission, crashed in the northeastern state of Assam.

“The Su-30MKI which was on a training mission, crashed in the area of Karbi Anglong, Assam, approximately 60km from Jorhat,” the IAF said on X.

Search operations are under way, the IAF added.

Earlier, the IAF had said that the fighter jet had not returned or made contact at its expected time after taking off from Assam at 7:42pm local time (1412 GMT) on Thursday.

“An IAF Su-30 MKI is reported overdue. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat, Assam and was last in contact at 7:42pm. Further details are being ascertained. Search and rescue mission has been initiated,” it said in a post on X.

The IAF has been beset by incidents involving fighter jet crashes in the recent past.

Su-30 MKI’s crash comes around 10 days after the IAF lost a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas light combat aircraft as it overshot the runway at a frontline airbase, sustaining major damage to its airframe.

Previously, in November last year, another Tejas crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show.

A fireball was seen immediately after the aircraft impacted the ground, with thick black smoke rising from the site of the incident, where the pilot lost his life.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2026