India Considers Customized Two-Seater Variant of Russia's Su-57 Stealth Fighter with Local Production, Russian Media Reports

India's quest for advanced fifth-generation fighter jets has taken an interesting turn, with reports emerging from Russian media that India is considering the acquisition of Russia's Su-57 stealth fighter.

The reports suggest that India is particularly interested in a two-seat variant of the Su-57, potentially manufactured locally under the "Make in India" initiative. This could involve joint development and technology transfer, further deepening defense cooperation between the two countries.

According to Russian military analyst Igor Korotchenko, the Su-57 outperforms its American counterpart, the F-35, in several key areas. He also highlighted potential risks associated with American systems, suggesting vulnerabilities in sensitive technology that could be exploited during conflicts.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this potential deal is the proposed development of a two-seat Su-57 variant specifically tailored to India's needs. This configuration would be a first for a fifth-generation fighter, offering increased operational flexibility and unique advantages in training and complex missions.

The second seat could accommodate a weapons systems officer or a trainer, enhancing the aircraft's capabilities in electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and long-range strike missions.

India's interest in the Su-57 aligns with its broader defense modernization goals, as reported by Russian media. With the recent induction of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, India has demonstrated its willingness to diversify its military imports while maintaining strategic autonomy. Korotchenko emphasized the significance of a fifth-generation fighter in solidifying India's position as a global power, particularly as a nuclear-armed nation.

While these reports suggest a growing interest from India, several factors will influence the final decision, including cost, technology transfer agreements, and the potential impact on India's indigenous fighter jet programs.

Nonetheless, the possibility of India acquiring a customized, two-seat variant of the Su-57 with local production represents a significant development in India's pursuit of advanced airpower capabilities.

 

[Sandeep]

F35 is dire need of IAF at this moment & Trump can allow if pursued.

The USA won’t sell the F35 to us at all. Stop dreaming mate.

 

[Pad UwU]

I am in favor of buying 36 Su-57s for the IAF. No ToT needed.

Yes, we just need a full-spec Su-57E. To mitigate the burden of paying a higher price per unit, if we ask for more, like ToT and co-production rights, we will need to shed $20 to $40 billion for that.

 

[Sandeep]

Su 57 was offered many years back as PAKFA. We had paid around $ 300 million for research and prototype testing. Why IAF came out from the project is billion dollar question.

The main reason was that Russia was asking for over $5 billion in further development costs, Indian requirements weren’t being met and they wanted to reduce the indigenous amount of work share agreement, weren’t prepared to give 100% of the technology or manufacture it entirely in India.

 

[Renu Sri]

Is GoI willing to pay the tech access with billion's of dollars not below $30~40b for tech transfer and special tools for production with a minimum order of 100 aircraft 😺

We received help from Russia to develop nuclear reactor which was a crown jewel too. If not latest engine tech atleast we can find a way to get tech transfer for older RD33 and build on it.

 

[Sandeep]

No other option for India as Pakistan getting J-35a.

Pakistan isn't getting that at all because they can't afford it, and China won't trust them with it, as they know the Americans will just pay them to look at the jet's ability, capabilities, and technology.

 

[Pad UwU]

The main reason was that Russia was asking for over $5 billion in further development costs, Indian requirements weren’t being met and they wanted to reduce the indigenous amount of work share agreement, weren’t prepared to give 100% of the technology or manufacture it entirely in India.

Ah, that's why they want to reduce our work share of the project because we can't pay for $5 billion... Instead, we just commit for a freaking $350 million. Wadafaq 😹😂🤣 no wonder FGFA collapsed.

 

[Sandeep]

There must be some kind of deal in which me might have got some technology for amca or did we got total scammed?

We got nothing from them.
The main reason was that Russia was asking for over $5 billion in further development costs, Indian requirements weren’t being met, they wanted to reduce the indigenous amount of work share agreement and weren’t prepared to give 100% of the technology to us or manufacture it entirely in India like they agreed at the start.

 

[Patriot _Forever]

I say we procure at least 75 of these to protect our country because with the AMCA we won’t have a stealth fighter until 2035. Meanwhile our babaric neighbours might get it from China. Let AMCA develop and take its time and meanwhile we will have stealth fighters to protect the country from hostile forces that we’re surrounded by. Along with the MRCA, Tejas 1A and 2 fighters we’ll have a formidable air force.

 

[Sandeep]

Ah, that's why they want to reduce our work share of the project because we can't pay for $5 billion... Instead, we just commit for a freaking $350 million. Wadafaq 😹😂🤣 no wonder FGFA collapsed.

No the money they initially said that we would have to pay was about $2 billion and that increased even more and more. Also the amount of work that our scientists were going to do had been cut down substantially. They couldn’t meet our jet or engine requirements either and wouldn’t give us 100% of the technology or manufacture it India like they said we would.

 

[Sandeep]

India needs to focus more on developing our own AMCA and indigenous fighters.

 

[Patriot _Forever]

Sounds like someone is pitching for the back stabbing, double crossing Americans.

I agree with the assessment that the Americans are treacherous. NEVER trust them. France and Russia are our time tested friends and should trust them.

 

[Pad UwU]

No the money they initially said that we would have to pay was about $2 billion and that increased even more and more. Also the amount of work that our scientists were going to do had been cut down substantially. They couldn’t meet our jet or engine requirements either and wouldn’t give us 100% of the technology or manufacture it India like they said we would.

$2 billion is just a minimum payment for the initiation of phase 1. Look at GCAP Tempest and FCAS NGF. Their initial phase 1 funding is way above that; that's why their collaboration goes smoothly. They don't cheap out on investment funding. To be honest, the GoI and IAF are asking for too much, with greedy requirements, but can't pay out for the buffet meal. LMAO 😹😹😹

 

[Pad UwU]

While the Su-57 might provide a short-term solution, procuring it would reinforce India’s dependency on foreign technology, which contradicts the AMCA’s goal of achieving greater self-reliance in defense technology. It might also delay the domestic innovation necessary to produce the AMCA independently.
And if we small order then price would be going to be high...

How can it be a dependency if we don't have a working AMCA that is still in drawing board 😹😹😹 no wonder we are so already late and still sticking to HAL's and GoI false promises.

 

[Pad UwU]

Whether Su57 is superior to F35 or not, it is superior to J35 of China, which Pak is going to acquire.
So we need F35 OR Su57 at the earliest.

Getting the Su-57 is realistic; the F-35, on the other hand, is a pipe dream.

 

[Pad UwU]

Hilarious. In Ukraine the SU-57 won't come anywhere near western air defence while the F35 simply flew into Iran and took out the S300s.

SU-57 uses a processor less powerful than an iPhone from 10 years ago...

Ukraine war has proven that most of Russian weapons are not very technologically advanced. Even when faced with older weapons from the Wests stores, let alone the latest or classified ones.

So that's why rusty Russian Orc's shovels are destroying western game-changing weapons in the Ukrainian battlefield... And why the US won't donate its aging F-22 and first tranche/batch F-35 to Ukraine instead. 🤔🧐

Please tell us about it 🙃 because we already know Russian Orc's technology is backwards, and media all over the world says they are only using shovels to fight the Ukrainians. 🤡

 

[Pad UwU]

We received help from Russia to develop nuclear reactor which was a crown jewel too. If not latest engine tech atleast we can find a way to get tech transfer for older RD33 and build on it.

Then GoI should set aside a big chunk of money or trade something that might Russian Orc's would accept to get a ToT's.... Problem is our government is asking too much but can't pay the required amount of money for the investment of getting good stuffs.

 

[Sandeep]

$2 billion is just a minimum payment for the initiation of phase 1. Look at GCAP Tempest and FCAS NGF. Their initial phase 1 funding is way above that; that's why their collaboration goes smoothly. They don't cheap out on investment funding. To be honest, the GoI and IAF are asking for too much, with greedy requirements, but can't pay out for the buffet meal. LMAO 😹😹😹

No in our case they said that we will have to pay about 2 billion only as the total project cost with an equal investment from their side. Remember this was ten years ago so that figure is higher now with adjusted with inflation. But instead it became obvious that they would need more money and they weren’t even developing a jet that met our requirements or the next generation engine. So until then we had seen absolutely 0 progress on the type of jet that we wanted but they were going full on ahead in developing their own version and they were asking for more money on top of that. In the end it was becoming clear that we would be stuck with whatever type of jet the Russians developed for themselves only.

 

[Rahul Dev]

It is the right choice and a critical time. As China is developing stealthier planes one after another, Pakistan is also procuring the J-35, Iran is procuring the Su-35 from Russia, and Turkey has flown the Kaan stealth plane. These advanced tech fighter planes can change geopolitical equations.

So we cannot remain behind, as time is running out. There is no option for us but to get the Su-57 from Russia with a Make in India plan until the AMCA is ready in the near future.

 

[Rokuth Mk1]

Sounds like someone is pitching for the back stabbing, double crossing Americans.

? There has been back stabbing from the Russians as well, hasn't there? There is the PAKFA, the forerunner of the Su-57, where India dumped money into its development, and ended up with nothing after Russia refused to compromise with the requirements for the Indian Air Force. Wasn't one of the requirements a 2 seater variant that Russia refused to develop?
Then there's INS Vikramaditya. Wasn't India quoted one price for the modification, and refurbishment of the original ship, then held it hostage until the Indian government paid double the price of the original quote? IIRC, Vikramaditya had to have work undone, and rebuilt in a Indian shipyard, as well. Deals with Russia only benefit Russia, nobody else.

 

[Vikas Yadav]

The next war can't be won by manned jet fighters; we should incorporate indigenous Ghatak/Predator-type 100+ unmanned aircraft in the 15t to 25t weight range with a minimum 6t to 8t weapons load. Now, tactical war requirements for stealth and other sensor technology have limitations with manned aircraft missions.

 

[Tim Mugaseth]

My knowledge is very limited, but I am going to say it because it seems a logical question. Guys comment here that India should not trust the USA, etc., calling them backstabbers and so on. In that case, why is HAL buying US-made engines for Tejas? It makes no sense. US-made jets have proven battle-worthy; the F-35s are feared aircraft and combat-ready, so if the budget permits, India should go for it. Over 10 years have passed, and we are still messing around. God knows if HAL will ever deliver the required jets. Meanwhile, our neighbors are arming by the day.

 

[Atharva Khalatkar]

How can it be a dependency if we don't have a working AMCA that is still in drawing board 😹😹😹 no wonder we are so already late and still sticking to HAL's and GoI false promises.

Hm, we don't have prototype yet but we aren't buying russian su57 as concerns regarding its performance and western sanctions make it a difficult to produce. Even Russians are going tough production crises . We have a trust on our HAL and supports it.

 

[Vivek Bakshi]

Considering that Pakistan has signed a deal with China for acquiring J-35, and US being very unreliable when it matters most (stopping delivery of GE-404 Engines till further notice causing our home grown planes literally standing in the production lines), india should move ahead and procure atleast 3-4 squadrons of Su-57E. Also scrap the deal of GE-404 Engines with GE and sign a new deal with Russian or French companies.

 

[aarkay]

India had joined PAKFA but Indians were not made partners in development in the true sense. India is making significant progress in indigenous fighter development programs. It needs to be understood local manufacturing (Assembling) is not self-reliance (rather it leads to lifelong depence on original OEM) as we have seen in the case of MiG-21 and others

 

[Tailless Baboon]

It is less than the price of one 4th gen Rafale F3R.

And that wasn't adjusted against S400 when we withdrew from 5th Gen aircraft?

 

[Wolverine1984]

The problem with India's defence design and manufacturing is the lack of vision, singular chain of command and planning and research so isolated from the field that every development phase is met with criticism, doubt, and reluctance in even testing the product. Our research groups target what is today's requirement and then go to the drawing board. Unfortunately, in this fast paced world, when they come back with something, the requirements are now for 10 years later!

 

[Pr K Singh]

This will be a normal arrangement in every way. A lot of investment has already been sunk by India into this fighter in the past and the basic Sukhoi manufacturing ecosystem is already there.

 

[SquashAndCricket]

I don't think Sukhoi designed this as a proper stealth aircraft. It was designed in the early 2000s and they didn't have the advantage that the Chinese had through espionage etc. And they still focused more on maneuverability instead of stealth.

 

[ERWIN]

While the Su-57 might provide a short-term solution, procuring it would reinforce India’s dependency on foreign technology, which contradicts the AMCA’s goal of achieving greater self-reliance in defense technology. It might also delay the domestic innovation necessary to produce the AMCA independently.
And if we small order then price would be going to be high...

Making a plane without an engine is like making a toy plane for hangar operations only...