India Yet to Decide on Su-57 Purchase, Defence Secretary Questions Its 5th Generation Capabilities
Indian Defence Secretary R.K. Singh has said that no decision has yet been taken on acquiring Russia’s Su-57 fifth-generation fighter aircraft, questioning whether the Russian jet can be regarded among the world’s most advanced fifth-generation combat aircraft.
Speaking at a defence summit in New Delhi, Singh said that when India withdrew from its joint fifth-generation fighter aircraft programme with Russia in 2018, the Su-57 was still under development. At the time, the Indian Air Force had concerns over its stealth capabilities, technological maturity and several other critical systems.
He said that even now, the Su-57 is considered to lag behind the US F-35 and China’s J-20 in areas including stealth, sensor fusion, electronic warfare capabilities and network-centric warfare systems.
However, Singh acknowledged that the Russian aircraft possesses advanced capabilities in areas such as speed, manoeuvrability, long-range operations and its ability to carry a heavy weapons load.
He also pointed out that inducting a limited number of Russian fighters into India’s fleet could require a separate logistics, training, spare-parts and maintenance infrastructure, making the option less feasible at present.
Asked what strategy India would adopt to obtain an immediate fifth-generation fighter capability, given that its indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme is still under development and operational induction could take several years, Singh did not provide a specific answer.
