The Indian authorities have not yet made a final decision on the purchase of the Russian Su-57 fighter. The government has not yet made any commitments on the proposed price for the aircraft, said Minister of Defense of the Republic Rajesh Kumar Singh at the Network18 Rising Bharat summit.
According to the Minister of Defense, India is still considering cooperation with Rafale as the main direction, subject to negotiations on its significant integration into local production.
Negotiations with Russia on the Su-57 are ongoing.
A trade agreement with the United States does not prevent cooperation with the Russian Federation in the defense sector, the minister stressed. In addition, Singh recalled that the Indian program to create a fifth-generation fighter is focused on a domestic medium-range aircraft under the AMCA project.
It is worth recalling that India has already produced Su-30MKI fighters under a Russian license. It is likely that part of the production capacity will be used in the Su-57 project. The media reported that France refused to grant India access to the Rafale software, and some experts even managed to record this as a turn of the republic towards the Su-57.
Aviation expert Roman Gusarov explained to "First Technical" why the localization of the Su-57 in India will be beneficial for Russia.