Putin offers Su-57 to India as New Delhi faces stealth fighter gap
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NEW DELHI — Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered India joint production of the country’s most advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, the Su-57, and said Moscow was willing to cooperate without “limitations.”His comments were made during an interaction with journalists at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.India and Russia had initiated a joint program in 2007 to co-develop a fifth-generation fighter, but a decade later, in 2018, New Delhi withdrew from the project due to concerns over issues such as costs, technology access and the aircraft’s stealth capabilities. Russia went on to develop it independently.Offering technology transfer and integration with Indian systems, Putin said in St. Petersburg that the Su-57 could be a joint venture between the two countries.“We are ready to supply India with this aircraft, to keep developing it. We don’t have any issues or limitations,” the Russian president said.The renewed Russian offer comes at a critical time for India’s airpower modernization plans. India does not have a fifth-generation fighter. The most advanced fighter jet in the country’s air force is the French Rafale, which is not a stealth platform.This has led to a huge capability gap compared with China, which is rapidly expanding its stealth fighter fleet. According to reports, Pakistan is also planning to acquire these jets from China.The dynamic is prompting India to weigh its options for stealth fighters. While New Delhi is accelerating a domestic program to develop an advanced fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft, operational deployment is still a decade away.Indian officials have yet to respond publicly to the offer for the Su-57 jet. But in April, the then-chairman of the country’s premier aerospace manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, D.K. Sunil, told news agency Asian News International that Russia had presented the capabilities of the fighter jet to India.“We are awaiting the Russian quotation about the