Latest news reports appearing in media indicate that Russia is conducting detailed studies into the scale of investments required for local production of the Su-57 in India. However, New Delhi has already indicated that access to source codes, full transfer of technology, local production and integration of Indian avionics & mission systems will be critical & non-negotiable for any possible deal with its old & traditional strategic defence partner.
Let's discuss as to why the integration of Indian-origin avionics and systems, especially, the Uttam/Virupaksha radar featuring the superior Gallium Nitride technology would be critical and almost game changer for India.
The Gallium Nitride or GaN technology, featured on India's Uttam & Virupaksha radars (for Tejas & Su-30MKIs respect ively), is almost becoming a global standard and is way superior to the Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) based Byelka radar currently available on the Su-57E Felon, in terms, of relative range of detection, target tracking, power density, degree of situational awareness, precision, mission reliability, thermal management and electronic warfare, especially anti-jamming capabilities, and is almost becoming ubiquitous and a must in today's world indeed. However, it has almost stirred a hornet's nest in Russia's defense industrial base regarding the technical inferiority of the Russian flagship, 5th generation stealth fighter's avionics, especially radar.
Further, it could almost have been a repeat of the 1990s saga, wherein, India had procured around 260 Su-30MKIs from Russia. The Flankers, despite of being superb dogfighters with thrust vectoring engines, had/have a stark and underlying shortcoming, their PESA radar, rather than an AESA radar, which is way superior, in terms of capabilities, which ultimately has forced India to upgrade them with the indigenous Virupaksha radar developed by the DRDO now, which is way better even than the RBE2-AA with twice the number of onboard TRMs, after almost 2+ decades after their original entry into service with the IAF.
Thus, with the Su-57E Felon, India is simply ensuring that the same faux pas and tactical error is not repeated; which is absolutely the right thing to do, non-negotiable and almost a must; especially with India's growing economic heft, Russia's desperation for an international export customer for Su-57 and amid the prevailing chaos in the geopolitical environment with Trump's latest foreign policy pivot against India effectively meaning that one of the horses in the two-horse derby (the F-35) is virtually disqualified, practically more or less out of the race and almost at the dead-end of the road effectively, as far as a deal with India is concerned...
Further, with the integration of domestic-origin avionics & systems, India would be able to:
1. Ensure its reduced dependence on foreign suppliers.
2. Ensure only the state of the art technology is inserted for longevity and a longer service lifespan with minimal & costly retrofits.
3. Give a boost to Make in India as a policy imperative.
4. Keep the overall costs of production down.
5. Ease of maintenance & upkeep, like with the Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) on the Virupaksha radar.
Hope India plays all the right cards and makes all the right moves in dealing with Putin & Co. this time around; after having already secured commitment from Russia for access to the source code, full TOT and commitment to local production of the 'Felon' at HAL's existing Su-30MKI production facility; having fumbled on multiple occasions earlier, over the decades, while also giving a befitting reply to the real & actual geopolitical 'Felon' right now, i.e. Trump...
