Russia Revives Push to Sell Su-57 Fighter Jets to India As Country Pursues Domestic Program

Russia is making a renewed push to sell its Su-57 stealth fighter jet to India, even after the Indian Air Force (IAF) recently greenlit its own indigenous fighter program. According to reports, Russia is keen to showcase the Su-57 in India, but the motivations behind the move remain unclear.

This renewed interest from Russia comes years after India withdrew from the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) program, a collaborative effort to develop an Su-57 variant specifically designed for the IAF. The program ultimately failed due to disagreements over technology, cost, and developmental direction.

India's recent commitment to the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a domestically developed 5th-generation fighter, has emphasized the country's ambition for self-reliance in defense technology. This focus on indigenous production seems to complicate Russia's attempts to revive interest in the Su-57.

Previous endeavors to sell India on the single-engine Su-75 fighter jet were also unsuccessful, with the IAF reportedly showing limited interest. It remains open whether Russia's latest efforts will be sufficient to change India's stance on acquiring 5th-generation fighter jets.

Russia's motivations behind its renewed pursuit of the Su-57 program in India are uncertain. The IAF's apparent preference for domestically developed solutions leaves the future of a potential Su-57 deal in serious question.

 

[Anant]

As Boeing is ending production of F18 in 2027, wonder what will happen if Boeing offers them for the base price of $55 Million each, among these options F16 is still the cheapest and have near similar payload carrying capability as Rafale and will also be available faster compared to other options, but free foreign watches might alter the decision making.

Won't happen. See, you have to realise they won't sell them on a loss. If you look at the final order the F-18 has received, the jets are pegged at between 70 and 75 million USD per aircraft. Now, factor in the fact that thr Americans already have an entire ecosystem set up for the F-18, that this is a domestic sale (therefore cheaper), and that this doesn't include weapons, and you would quickly realise that a foreign sale would cost around 100 million USD per aircraft, and quite possibly considerably more (without weapons).