MOSCOW – Is India planning to buy Russian 5th Generation stealth fighterjet Su 57?

Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57 5th Generation stealth fighter is currently not beingconsidered for the Indian Air Force (IAF) but the combat aircraft can beevaluated once it joins active service with the Russian Air Force. AirChief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, who was in Russia from July 9-12,2019, told Russian Ministry of Defense’s official newspaper Krasnaya Zvezdathat IAF can take a decision on single-seat, twin-engine multirolesupersonic Su-57 only after the combat aircraft starts flying as part ofthe Russian Air Force.

“If you mean the 5th Generation aircraft (Sukhoi Su-57), the question hasnot yet been considered. When the aircraft is already put into service withyou, only then can we make a decision for ourselves. We are ready toconsider it for acquisition after we see it, and it is provided to us forconsideration and assessment,” ACM Dhanoa said in reply to a question aboutthe possibility of joint participation of Russia and India in developmentof combat aircraft. The interview was in Russian and was released onKrasnaya Zvezda on July 19, 2019.

While calling his visit “very eventful”, the IAF chief said that it “gaveus a wealth of experience”. “We arrived in Moscow at the invitation of theRussian side. We held talks with the Chief of the General Staff of theRussian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, DeputyCommander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Force, Lieutenant General SergeiDronov, and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Admiral Nikolai Evmenov,” headded.

Sukhoi Aircraft Company, a part of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, onJuly 29, 2019, announced that the Su-57 has entered mass production stage.The company added that it has signed a deal with the Defence Ministry for76 Su-57 fighters for the Russian Aerospace Force. The first fighter willjoin the Russian Aerospace Force combat unit before the end of 2019.

India and Russia had partnered for the Fifth Generation FighterAircraft/Perspective Multi-role Fighter. But India later pulled out of theFGFA programme following differences over the development of a new engineto power the fighter and the sharing of the sources codes to upgrade thecombat jet without Russia’s help. Even the escalating cost of developing afighter, its stealth and weapon-carrying capabilities to rival the F-22Raptor and F-35 Lightning II of the United States of America became a boneof contention.