India rules out purchase of Russian Su-57E fighter jets

India has ruled out the possibility of purchasing Russia's fifth-generation Su-57E fighter jet, Defence Minister Rajesh Kumar Singh announced.

The minister said New Delhi is not considering the acquisition of new Sukhoi fighter aircraft, according to Defense Security Asia.

Instead, India plans to modernise its existing fleet of Su-30MKI fighters while advancing the development of its own indigenous stealth fighter.

When asked about acquiring new Sukhoi fighter variants, Singh replied, “No, we have not thought about Sukhois,” adding that India was “actively looking at upgrading the existing Sukhois which we have been producing under licence from the Russians.”

India and Russia previously pursued a joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) program based on the Su-57 platform starting around 2007, but New Delhi withdrew in 2018 citing high costs, inadequate technology transfer, shortcomings in stealth and engines, and performance concerns. 

In recent years, Russia has repeatedly offered the export Su-57E variant with options for local production at existing Su-30MKI facilities, technology access, and support for India’s own programs, yet New Delhi has focused instead on indigenous development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and deep upgrades to its large existing Su-30MKI fleet.

By Jeyhun Aghazada