While India continues to look for a fifth generation aircraft for its air force, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow is ready to work New Delhi over the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet programme. The Su-57 is a fifth generation multi-role aircraft that has been developed by Russia.
The Russian leader, who called Su-57 "the best aircraft in the world right now", made the remarks while interacting with leading global news agencies at Saint Petersburg.
"As far as Su-57 goes, the points we proposed to our Indian friends, we are ready to work together on this technology... the fifth generation technology. I think it is the best in the world... This aircraft could have been our joint project. We developed it independently, but we are ready to work with India. We don't have any issues or limitations. Same goes for air defence systems," Putin said.
Why did India withdraw from FGFA?
India had backed out of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia in 2018 after the Indian Air Force (IAF) found that the aircraft does not meet its requirements. Reportedly, Indian officials believed that the aircraft lacked characteristics of a stealth fighter jet, and they were not satisfied with its stealth characteristics, avionics, and many other features.
But lately, India is considering procuring the aircraft again and several unverified reports have claimed that New Delhi is actively looking to procure somewhere between 40 and 50 Su-57s. Notably, Russia has repeatedly maintained that it is ready to work with over the project. Unlike previous joint-development initiatives, Russia has said it is also ready to share the source code of Su-57 with India completely.
Russia ready to accept India's all demands
Russian officials have also stressed that India's all demands regarding the fighter jet are "completely acceptable", including full transfer of technology for indigenous production.
The Russia side, news agency ANI reported last year, is also analysing what investment it might require to manufacture Su-57 in India. Sources, quoted by ANI, said Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is likely to be used for Su-57 production.
"India and Russia have been partners for many years. Even when India was under sanctions, we supplied the country with weapons to ensure its security," Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Russian defence conglomerate Rostec, told ANI. "Today, we continue the same approach as in previous years, supplying India with whatever military equipment it needs and ensuring our mutual interests in developing cooperation."
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