MOSCOW – India Russia programme for co-developing a fifth generationfighter aircraft has come to an end owing to the high costs involved in theproject.

The technology of the plane was not worth the money involved in it and itwould have been much inferior to the American F-22 Raptor and the F-35fifth generation planes.

However Russia has offered India used MiG-29s.Although Mig 29s are flown bythe Indian Air Force and the pilots are familiar with it but the onesoffered by the Russians are different from the ones in the Indianinventory. “We will have to be cautious to ensure that the planes don’tbecome a maintenance nightmare for us in the future as they are differentin many ways,” the sources said.

The Indian Navy also operates the MiG-29 ‘K’ and is the only operator ofthis version of the plane and is having a rough experience with the planeswhich are difficult to maintain and their settings change immediately afterthey land on the aircraft carrier.

The Air Force has three squadrons of the MiG-29s which have been undergoingupgrades for an extended life and are considered to be very good planes inthe air defence roles.

However, ministry sources said the planes can also help in arresting thefall of number of squadrons in the Air Force which has been demanding newaircraft for meeting its sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons.

Unless new planes are bought, the numbers could drop from the current 32 to29 in 2027 and less in the 2030s. This is despite the 36 Rafale fightersthat the Modi government has bought and the six squadrons of the indigenousTejas or Light Combat Aircraft that the IAF will have by 2032.

Currently, the IAF’s fighter strength includes six squadrons of the deeppenetration strike Jaguars, three squadrons of the MiG-29, three squadronsof the Mirage-2000, 12 squadrons of the Sukhoi-30MKI, two squadrons of theMiG-27 and 11 squadrons of the various kinds of MiG-21s, including therevamped Bisons. By 2022, however, only one of these MiG-21 squadrons willbe left.