As India’s aspirations for fifth-generation aircraft remain distant and Russia seeks buyers for its Su-57 Felons, there is some speculation regarding New Delhi’s potential interest in Russian stealth fighters as an interim solution.
Speaking at the Army 2024 forum, Russia’s Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Dmitry Shugaev, told state news agency TASS that Russia was receiving requests from foreign countries for the purchase of the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter multi-role fighter jet.
“The Su-57 multifunctional fighter is a high-tech product with a plenitude of suppliers involved in its creation. Production of the aircraft requires strict coordination of their action and high-quality training of specialists of different disciplines. The interest of foreign countries in buying the Su-57 is in place. Relevant requests are being received,” Shugaev said. However, Shugaev stopped short of naming these interested foreign customers.
Russia has been attempting to promote the Su-57 fighters for an extended period. However, with only a limited number of units manufactured and delays in deliveries caused by Moscow’s preoccupation with the Ukraine conflict, it has struggled to instill confidence among its potential buyers. Russia has also deployed the aircraft in the ongoing war, albeit only for air defense patrols and launching stand-off attacks from its airspace.
Moscow continues to showcase the aircraft at air shows and exhibitions to attract potential customers. In 2021, Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev announced that the export agency was in talks with five countries interested in buying the Su-57. At that time, experts speculated that friendly countries like India, Algeria, Vietnam, and Turkey may have shown interest in the jet.
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India Needs A Fifth-Gen Aircraft
Earlier, India intended to buy up to 144 of the Su-57 aircraft but ultimately felt the Su-57 was not aligned with the IAF’s requirements and terminated the agreement.
The IAF was involved in the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project, derived from the Russian Sukhoi Su-57. The finalized FGFA was to have 43 enhancements recommended by India over the Su-57, such as sophisticated sensors, networking, and combat avionics.
However, during negotiations, the IAF voiced reservations about the aircraft’s ability to supercruise and its lack of all-around stealth. Additionally, the IAF wanted a twin-seat fighter. India eventually exited the program in 2018. However, Russian officials said that the lid had not been closed on the program.
India has been developing its fifth-generation fighter initiative, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). However, recent reports indicate that the aircraft will not take to the skies until the end of this decade and will enter mass production only by 2035. This delay has created a significant capability gap between India and its adversary, China.
China has already fielded more than 200 fifth-generation J-20 fighter jets. By the time India rolls out its first fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the AMCA, China could have 1000 J-20 stealth fighters in its inventory.
This has led observers to suggest that India might have to buy a stealth aircraft to narrow the gap with Beijing until the AMCA rolls out of production lines, which could take another decade. Only Russia, China, and the US have operational fifth-gen stealth fighters.
Since the US is unlikely to sell its F-35 Lightning II aircraft to India on the pretext that the Indian military operates the Russian S-400 air defense system, the only stealth fighter option for New Delhi is the Russian Su-57. This has led experts to surmise that the aircraft may be back in the reckoning for the IAF years after it walked away from it.
Can India Acquire Su-57 Fighters?
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia to meet his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, earlier this year, several experts indicated that the agenda for the Modi-Putin summit included “a logistics supply agreement to bolster cooperation between the two militaries, restarting discussions on the joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), and collaboration on nuclear power.”
In July 2018, Nirmala Sitharaman, who was India’s Defence Minister at the time, informed Business Standard, “In February, it was conveyed to the Russians that they could go ahead with developing the fighter without us. But the option remains, and we could well go back at a later stage and ask to buy the fighter.”
Since then, Russia has fixed the issues the IAF had brought up during testing in development and operations. Indian experts and veterans have now suggested that the aircraft may be suited for India’s needs.
Indian Air Force veteran and an avid watcher of the Russian military, Squadron Leader Vijainder K. Thakur previously noted the new advancements in the Su-57 that may draw India’s interest. This includes the AL-51 Stage-2 engines, which facilitate super-cruise. The engine thrust is 11 tonnes dry and 17.5 tonnes in the afterburner, significantly better than the 9 tonnes dry and 14.5 tonnes in the afterburner of the previous AL-41F1.
The notable boost in engine output will enable supercruise at a maximum speed of Mach 1.6. According to certain Russian sources, the Su-57 can currently cruise at almost Mach 2 without the need for an afterburner, making it the fastest supercruise fighter.
The Stage 2 engine further enhances the fighter’s stealth. It has a chevron nozzle or a serrated exhaust nozzle. Serrated nozzles can complicate the detection and tracking of the fighter for infrared and radar sensors by changing the temperature distribution and form of the exhaust plume.
Russia has also incorporated other upgrades in the fighter, which go beyond the IAF’s expectations. For instance, Russia is developing a variant of the fighter that will be able to act as a mother ship to launch attacks by stealth UCAV drones deep into adversary territory.
Moreover, Russia has not only improved the Su-57, but it has also operationally tested the stealth fighter in Syria and Ukraine. Also, Russia has finished developing a variety of armament systems that are intended to be installed within the aircraft’s internal weapon bays.
These attributes position the Su-57 as a compelling choice for the IAF, particularly given the increasing disparity with its adversaries. In addition to the threat faced by the J-20 fighters of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force, Pakistan has also reportedly initiated the process of acquiring fifth-generation FC-31 aircraft from China— posing a significant challenge for the IAF.
Without mincing words, Thakur suggested that “the revival of the FGFA project is a good option for India to plug the emerging operational gap. Russia is firmly committed to supporting India’s desire for localized defense production and sharing defense technology. Russian systems are also known to be cost-effective.”
The view was also echoed by another veteran and expert.
Writing for EurAsian Times, Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retired), an Indian Air Force veteran fighter test pilot, argued: “With China aggressively growing its fleet of J-20 stealth fighters and Pakistan indicating its interest in a Chinese stealth fighter (FC-31), India needs to act fast. Before AMCA arrives, India needs a stop-gap solution. The US F-35 could be a great option, but it is not officially on the table as of now. The other option for the IAF is to explore the Su-57 and even the Su-75 Checkmate that Russia is proposing. Remember, India has kept all its options open!”
The Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has not expressed any interest in Russian fifth-generation jets yet. However, with Tejas LCA MK2 and AMCA delayed, India needs to speed up combat fighters under MMRCA. India would want a fifth-gen warplane, and there are only two options: F-35 and Su-57, both of which are laced with political challenges.
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