India’s fighter jet fight: US V Russia in the sky

India faces an important option in modernizing its Air Force – but is a state -of -the -art American fighter jet reply?

During his visit to Washington last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump, who announced that he was “paving the way” To acquire F -35 for India, a jet was mainly sold to close the collaborative and partners.

F -35 A “fifth generation” is a “fifth generation” multi-roll fighter jet with advanced sensors, AI-powered combat systems and seamless data-sharing capabilities. Built to avoid radar, it is the most sophisticated jet in the sky – but at $ 80MA pop, one of the most expensive. (Silently a “fifth generation” is a major feature of fighter.)

Many believe that with its fighter squadron declining and China’s military growth, India faces a high -handed choice: the US from the US to spat down the state -of -the -art but expensive F -35 or strengthen defense relations with Russia through local production of its most advanced fighter fighter Jet Sukhoi Su -57.

Experts believe that reality is more fine, with the US-Russia “dogfite”, a large extent a media propaganda-the last month, the largest air show in Asia in the southern city, the presence of both jets in Aero India, was recently fuel.

Trump’s F -35 proposal seems practically more “symbolic”, according to Ashley J Tallis, a senior partner of the Carnegie settlement for international peace, inspired by his push to sell American weapons.

Integrating a “fifth generation” aircraft in India Air Force (IAF) schemes – Homegron Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and focused on more rhfles – will be challenging without especially co -product rights. Being developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), AMCA India has its own secret fighter.

“It is unlikely that the F-35 will be introduced for co-production for India-the possibility of any acquisition will be a direct sales. Apart from other things, Modi is unlikely to sit well with the loud loud sitting in India and will not be welcomed by the monitoring of the significant end-user in the F-35 sales.”

India’s challenges with F -35 are its steep cost, heavy maintenance and operational issues – the availability of jet is about 51% for the US Air Force, which is according to the security expert Stephen Bryan, the author of a substation column, which is according to the security expert Stephen Brian, Weapons and strategy“The question is whether India is ready to invest billions of rupees in F -35, knowing that it can buy Russian jet better.”

But many people dismissed SU-57 as a real contender, given that India took out the decade out of the decade to co-produce Jet with Russia, which was over disputes over technology transfer, cost-sharing and specifications.

To ensure this, India’s Air Force is low on aging and fighter jets.

It operates 31 fighters and Combat squadron-mostly below 42 Russian and Soviet aircraft-approved 42. An important challenge, IAF’s versatile workheors from Russia, is searching for a long -term replacement for Sukho -30.

Christopher Clary, a political scientist at Albani University, recently indicated to ignore data from ISS military balance for India: Between 2014 and 2024, China added 435 fighters and ground attack aircraft, Pakistan took advantage of 31, while India’s fleet shrunk to 151.

India’s employed fighter jet expansion is largely homegron, Plan to get more than 500 jetsMost light fighter aircraft.

83 Order for Tejas Mark 1A – an agile Multirol Homegron Fighter – is confirmed, ordering with another 97 will be ordered soon. Meanwhile, heavy, more advanced mark 2 is in development. Homegron stealth jet stays away at least a decade.

India also plans to purchase 114 multirol fighter jets under IAF’s $ 20BN Multi -Roll Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) program, which needs to build foreign jets in India under the transfer of technology deal – its biggest obstacle.

Stopped since 2019, the Government of India is looking into a transparent and non-contact procurement process, after which the government faced criticism on the acquisition of 36 Rafales in the government-to-government deal. Five jets are in controversy, leading with Rafael as it is already in service with IAF.

Experts say that the modernization of India’s Air Force face three major obstacles: money, delay and dependence on foreign jets.

Defense spending is Shrink in real wordsThe foreign fighter jets program risk a drawn fate. While India prioritize homemade, DRDO’s delay stopgap foreign purchases, which creates a repetition cycle. It requires a competent homegron jet on time to break it. The supply of F -404 engines of General Electric for jets is delayed due to a holdup.

A major challenge is mismatched between the sight of the Ministry of Defense and IAF needs, saying Rahul Bhatia, an analyst of the Eurasia group, an analyst.

Tejas Mark 1 faced early suspicion from the Air Force, upgrading Mark 1A and Mark 2. “But decades-Lumb development cycles disappointed the armed forces, especially new techniques are available as their needs, which contributes to the merger in turn,” Mr. Bhatia told me.

Even Indian Air Force chief AP Singh has No secret of his frustration More delay.

Air Marshal Singh recently told a seminar, “I can take a fast that I will not buy anything from outside or I will wait for what has developed in India, but it may not be possible that it does not come at that speed (time).”

“At the moment, we all know that when we talk about numbers (fighters), we stop very badly. And the numbers that were promised are also coming a little slow. Therefore, there will be a need to go and look, which can fill these voids quickly,” he said that the delayed Tejas Mark 1A delivery was mentioned.

India’s clear priority is a homegron stealth fighter, with more than $ 1bn already committed to its development. Says Mr. Bhatia, “A foreign stealth jet will only be considered when India’s immediate threat to change the perception.” Two so-called secret fighters in China-J-20 and J-35- But they probably decrease with American standards.

Most experts believe that India will neither choose American nor Russian fighters. “In short-term, as seen in previous conflicts, emergency shopping can fill the interval. Medium-term attention is co-produced, but the long game is clear-is making its own,” says Mr. Bhatia.

For India, the future of airpower is not only about buying jets – it is about making them, ideally with a strong Western partner. But for that vision to succeed, India should distribute time to its homegron fighters on time.