Russia is once again offering India the Su-57, but a potential deal creates an unpleasant dilemma for New Delhi. The country will have to simultaneously acquire a fifth-generation fighter and develop its own AMCA project, military analyst Ayush Pande stated in an article for The Times of India.
He recalled that the joint FGFA program, based on the Russian fifth-generation project, started in 2007 but stalled due to disagreements over cost, design, and access to technology. Now Moscow is offering a ready-made Su-57, joint production, and industrial cooperation.
The biggest risk is that India could invest heavily in yet another foreign fighter program. This is precisely at a time when it is trying to make AMCA the centerpiece of its own aerospace industry.
Indian military expert Abhijit Iyer-Mitra unexpectedly stated on September 13 that the Su-57 is actually a modified Su-30. However, "Pervyy Tekhnicheskiy" debunked these arguments and proved that it is a completely new piece of equipment.
India has not yet made a decision on purchasing the Su-57. The head of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, confirmed that Russia has concluded new contracts for the supply of Su-57E with a foreign customer, with deliveries as early as 2026. He did not specify who the customer was.