India recently approved $25 billion in fresh defence proposals to buy transport aircraft, S-400 AD systems, and remotely piloted aircraft amid tensions with Pakistan. Earlier, New Delhi authorized $40 billion to purchase more Rafale fighter jets and P-8I aircraft for the Navy.
With 114 Rafales, indigenous LCA Tejas & AMCA, and 6th-Gen European jets under review, is the Russian Su-57 dead for the Indian Air Force?
It has been a year since Russia pitched a “golden deal” to sell Su-57 to India. The offer included the supply of ready-made aircraft, the organisation of Su-57 production in India, and assistance in developing an Indian fifth-generation fighter, the AMCA.
The offer was later sweetened by the Russian state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, which said it would leverage the existing Su-30MKI infrastructure to support local production of the Su-57E in India, as previously reported by the EurAsian Times.
In November 2025, Russia further modified the order to include full licensed production of the Su-57E in India, technology transfer, and a potential two-seat variant. “Intensive work is underway across a range of areas, including the Su-57E platform, which can be utilised to implement India’s programme for developing its own fifth-generation fighter,” Russian ambassador to India Denis Alipov said in an interview at the time.
On its part, India has been staring at a major stealth and capability gap vis-à-vis the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), which has developed two different fifth-generation stealth jets—the J-20 and the J-35A. In fact, by the time the IAF inducts its first indigenously developed fifth-generation stealth aircraft, the PLAAF will have about 1,000 J-20s in service and will be ready to field a sixth-generation fighter.
Against that backdrop, IAF chief Air Marshal A.P. Singh last year indicated that the service might have to opt for off-the-shelf purchase of a fifth-generation stealth aircraft. However, the Russian proposal was never officially taken up and did not figure in the joint statement released after the 23rd India–Russia Summit in New Delhi in December 2025.
Russia has reportedly reiterated its Su-57 offer, emphasising a two-seat variant. This variant is designed for greater operational flexibility, such as pilot training, complex mission management, and manned-unmanned teaming between the fighter and loyal wingman-type drones. The acquisition would also entail integrating Indian-origin weapons and subsystems.
Last year, China unveiled the J-20S, the world’s first two-seat fifth-generation stealth fighter. The J-20S has been envisioned as an aircraft capable of performing medium- to long-range air superiority operations and precise strikes against land and maritime targets.
“Having one more pilot means having one more mission commander. In the era of fifth-generation fighter jets, the addition of a pilot to the J-20S is like a number ten player in soccer, who could both score points on his own and command the members of the warplane formation in combat,” Chinese military expert Zhang Xuefeng said at the time. And it may not be much different for India if it decides to go for a dual-seat Su-57E fighter jet.
In fact, the Russian offer is too good to be true, including unrestricted tech transfer for critical components such as engines, AESA radar, low-observable tech, AI elements, etc., a phased local production in India, and co-development tailored to the IAF’s needs. Russian officials have described Indian demands as completely acceptable.
However, despite the Su-57 being on offer from Russia for more than a year, the IAF has been reluctant to officially accept the offer—an approach that military experts have attributed to the failure of the FGFA partnership in the past, as previously explained in detail by the EurAsian Times.
Additionally, there have been concerns about the aircraft’s capabilities and potential US sanctions under the current Trump administration.
Moreover, the two-seat variant offered by Russia does not exist and is under development, with a first flight reportedly planned for later this year or early 2027. But more importantly, India seems to be putting its money on other programs, signalling that the Su-57 may not be a priority for now.
Rafale, AMCA & 6th-Gen Fighter
Earlier this year, India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave “acceptance of necessity” (AoN) to acquire 114 more Rafale fighter jets, the largest single defence purchase in India’s history. The move is aimed at filling the shortfall in the squadron, given that the IAF is now down to 29 fighter squadrons vis-à-vis the authorised 42.
For the acquisition process to commence and a contract to be signed, final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is required.
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France and India plan to jointly produce the Rafale in India. He also stressed that India’s anticipated order for another 114 Rafales (beyond the 36 the IAF already operates) is a “new step forward” in defence ties between the two countries. “On Rafale, what we want to do is expand. India confirmed a few days ago its willingness to command a new bunch of Rafales… 114… and to co-produce in India,” Macron was quoted as saying.
As per reports in the Indian media, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) told a parliamentary panel that it plans to conclude big contracts in the upcoming financial year to bolster the airpower, including contracts for buying 114 Rafale fighter jets, up to 60 medium transport aircraft (MTA), and additional airborne early warning and control (AEW&C).
“There is an increase of 37.03% in the Indian Air Force’s capital budget as compared to budget estimates for 2025-26. The allotted funds are planned to be utilised against some of the major new schemes like MRFA [a reference to the Rafale purchase], combat enablers (AEW&C, LCA Mk-1A), MTA, and medium-altitude long-endurance RPA [remotely piloted aircraft], in addition to the ongoing committed liabilities,” the MoD told the Parliamentary standing committee on defence.
It must be noted that 114 Dassault Aviation jets alone are expected to cost 3.25 lakh rupees or $35.65 billion.
Additionally, India is advancing work on the AMCA and has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to the aircraft.
Last month, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) shortlisted three industry contenders to design and build prototypes of the aircraft, including Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, a consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Electronics Limited, and a consortium of Bharat Forge, BEML Limited, and Data Patterns.
The funding for the aircraft will be allocated to the shortlisted contenders. This will be followed by a prototype assessment and awarding of the final contract to one manufacturer. Notably, AMCA is considered central to IAF’s modernisation and import reduction.
In fact, there has been considerable opposition to the Su-57’s acceptance within India’s defence and strategic community, amid fears that co-producing the jet could hinder the development of the AMCA.
In addition to the Rafale and AMCA, India is also reportedly eyeing joining a sixth-generation fighter jet.
The MoD has reportedly informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence of its interest in two active sixth-generation fighter jet consortia: the Global Combat Aircraft Program (GCAP), led by the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan; and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), led by France, Germany, and Spain. The IAF will “seek to join one of them” to ensure it does not fall behind in advancing next-generation, cutting-edge technologies, according to the document.
Both GCAP, led by the UK-Japan-Italy consortia, and the FCAS, led by France-Germany-Spain, represent “system of systems” approaches, featuring a crewed next-generation fighter, loyal-wingman drones, advanced artificial intelligence (AI), combat cloud networking, enhanced stealth features, sensor fusion, directed energy, and the next generation of weapons. And, joining one of these programs would allow India to close the technology gap with China in the long term.
Therefore, it is safe to say that the development and acquisition programs likely leave little room for the IAF to purchase another aircraft.
However, with squadron strength at an all-time low and the AMCA nearly a decade away, India could benefit from the purchase of 2 to 3 Russian Su-57E, as previously noted by aviation experts and veterans in interactions with the EurAsian Times.
- Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari13 (at) outlook.com
- Follow EurAsian Times on Google News
