For India, it’s ‘Pick your fighter,’ as Delhi weighs US, Russian bids

BENGALURU, India — The cream of the U.S. and Russian air forces shared a runway on the current Aero India 2025 exhibition in Bengaluru, as each the Lockheed Martin F-35A and Sukhoi Su-57E tried to woo the Indian Air Power in the direction of an unlikely deal.

Emanating from opposing blocs, the shocking juxtaposition of those newest fifth-generation fighters at Aero India, held right here Feb. 10-14, illustrates India’s non-aligned stance. Traditionally, Delhi has relied on Russia for army gear, although the U.S. has made important inroads into the market lately.

The most recent aggressive jostling surrounds fifth-generation fighters. A Rosoboronexport official stated India may manufacture the Su-57 at dwelling with full expertise switch. Russia’s protection export company stated it has held casual talks with Hindustan Aeronautics Restricted (HAL) on the topic, and believes the Su-57 could possibly be constructed at HAL’s Nasik facility the place Su-30MKI jets are at present assembled.

Paradoxically, India had beforehand pulled out of an Indo-Russian collaborative venture that in the end resulted within the Su-57.

The Russian Air Power obtained its first Su-57 in 2020. Alexander Mikheev, director normal of Rosoboronexport, declared on the air present right here: “The primary overseas buyer of the promising, multifunctional, fifth-generation fighter Su-57E in 2025 will start working this plane which will likely be delivered by Rosoboronexport.”

A number of days later, Algerian media reported that their nation is, in truth, the Su-57E’s first export buyer.

Thickening the plot, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met U.S. President Donald Trump on the White Home in mid-February, Trump promised he was “paving the way in which to in the end present India F-35 stealth fighters.”

A joint leaders’ assertion issued Feb. 13 stated the U.S. was reviewing “its coverage on releasing fifth-generation fighters” to India. Trump’s vow to place the technologically delicate F-35 on the desk is unprecedented, particularly given India’s shut relationship with Russia.

Lockheed Martin instantly responded: “We’re inspired by the current announcement by President Trump to offer the F-35 to India. We look ahead to working intently with each governments on upcoming strategic procurements, together with the fighters.”

Trump’s dangling provide of the F-35 took Delhi unexpectedly.

“I don’t suppose, with regard to the acquisition of a sophisticated aviation platform by India, that course of has began as but,” an Indian Ministry of Exterior Affairs spokesperson stated. “So that is at present one thing that’s on the stage of a proposal.”

India has an airpower hole with nemesis China, however it’s unclear whether or not the F-35 is the precise answer.

Other than the U.S. being paranoid about F-35 applied sciences falling into the flawed arms, how would the superior fighter combine into India’s current command-and-control networks?

The F-35 will unlikely be permitted to plug into networks containing India’s spine of Russian-designed Su-30MKI fighters, for instance.

The sudden Russian Su-57E and American F-35 gives additionally come amidst Modi’s efforts to spice up protection gear self-reliance. The truth is, India is presently pursuing its personal indigenous, fifth-generation Superior Medium Fight Plane (AMCA) program.

The federal government displayed a full-scale mannequin of the AMCA for the primary time at Aero India 2025. The venture guarantees, optimistically, first fighter deliveries in 2034. Nonetheless, shopping for both the F-35 or Su-57 runs the chance of asphyxiating India’s AMCA effort.

India has signed $50 billion in protection contracts with Russia over the previous 20 years. The Stockholm Worldwide Peace Analysis Institute reported that 36% of Indian protection imports got here from Russia over 2019-2023. Nonetheless, this represented a 34% drop in comparison with the previous 2014-2018 timeframe.

Because the world’s largest weapon importer from 2008-2023, India accounted for 10% of worldwide arms imports. In that very same interval, based on a current U.S. Congressional Analysis Service report, 62% of Delhi’s army imports got here from Russia, 11% from France, 10% from the U.S. and seven% from Israel.

The identical report remarked, “The U.S. authorities is actively encouraging India to scale back its dependence on Russian-origin protection articles.”

India is just too essential a marketplace for the U.S. to disregard. Previous to 2008, American gross sales of protection articles to Delhi have been nearly nonexistent, however since then it has accrued greater than US$20 billion in gross sales.

Vital American exports embody C-130J Tremendous Hercules, C-17A Globemaster IIIs, P-8I plane, CH-47F Chinooks, MH-60Rs, AH-64E Apaches, Hellfire and Stinger missiles, M777A2 howitzers, SIG Sauer SIG716 assault rifles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

India’s newest American deal, price a mammoth $4 billion, is for 31 MQ-9B drones.

The Trump-Modi assertion famous a “deepening convergence of U.S.-India strategic pursuits.” To additional advance protection ties, the 2 will signal a brand new ten-year framework for a significant protection partnership later this yr.

The assertion additionally introduced plans to “pursue this yr new procurements and co-production preparations” for Javelin missiles, Stryker 8×8 autos and 6 further P-8I maritime patrol plane “following settlement on sale phrases.”

Earlier this month, India declared a 9.53% hike to $78.3 billion in its 2025-2026 protection funds.

“Within the present geopolitical situation the place the world is witnessing a altering paradigm of recent warfare, the Indian Armed Forces must be outfitted with state-of-the-art weapons and need to be reworked right into a technologically superior combat-ready drive,” reads a Ministry of Defence assertion.

Delhi now has a alternative – to resume reliance on Russia by shopping for the Su-57E; proceed switching allegiance to the U.S. with an F-35 order; or spurn each by placing all its eggs within the AMCA basket and accepting a chronic functionality hole vis-à-vis China within the close to time period.