ISLAMABAD – The newest export model of the Russian stealth fighter wasrecently demonstrated at the MAKS air show this summer, with PresidentVladimir Putin showing it off to his Turkish counterpart Recep TayyipErdogan.
According to The National Interest, the Indian Air Force has already”cautiously” signalled interest in the jet. Moscow and New Delhi previouslytried to jointly build a fifth-generation jet under the FGFA programme, butIndia eventually withdrew from it in 2018, Sputnik has reported.
US media outlet The National Interest, which focuses on the global defenceindustry, has come up with a short listlinkoffive nations that are more likely to buy Russia’s fifth-generation fighterjet, the Su-57, as the aircraft is about to be delivered to the Russian AirForcelink.
One of these countries could be Turkeylink,which has essentially been kicked out of the F-35 programme by the US overits purchase of S-400 air defence systems from Moscow. The new Russianstealth jet was presented by Vladimir Putin to the Turkish president lastsummer, with the latter wondering whether Ankara could buy the aircraft.[image: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Russian leader VladimirPutin at MAKS 2019]© SPUTNIK/
Another potential buyer is Algeria, which has long been an importer ofSoviet and now Russian-made armaments and equipment. Namely, the country isspeculated to have bought S-400 air defence systems from Moscow in 2015,according to The National Interest. However, Moscow has never confirmedselling the air defence systems to the North African state. The magazinefurther pointed out that Algeria has also shown interest in the Su-35 – apredecessor of the Su-57link–which has only a small difference in terms of its price per plane.
Myanmar could eventually also show interest in the top Russian jet,according to the media outlet. The magazine argued that the Su-57 would beof little use to the government in its fight against multiple domesticinsurgencies due to the jet’s focus on maintaining air superiority – butthe latter could still be of interest to the country, according to TheNational Interest.[image: Su-57 test flight over Astrakhan, Russia.]
The “air specialisation” of the Su-57 could also hinder its entry onto theChinese market, with Beijing already developing its own fifth generationstealth jet, the J-20link,which focuses on penetrating enemy defences and delivering ground strikes,according to the media outlet. China may still be interested in acquiringSu-57s for training purposes, as well as to study it for technologies thatcould be applied in the domestically produced fighter jet, the magazinepointed out.
As a result of China’s interest in the Su-57, India may also beincentivised to acquire the cutting-edge Russian warplane, the media outletadded.
According to The National Interest, the Indian Air Force has already”cautiously” signalled interest in the jet. Moscow and New Delhi previouslytried to jointly build a fifth-generation jet under the FGFA programme, butIndia eventually withdrew from it in 2018.