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The US is still trying to woo Delhi to acquire more American weapons, particularly fighter jets such as the F-21, an advanced F-16 derivative “with F-22 and F-35 DNA”. The latter’s lack of a demo flight is very indicative of its reputation within the Indian military, which is particularly worried about the fact that countries with F-35s are virtually always subjected to unacceptable levels of control, risking their sovereignty while also acquiring a mediocre aircraft at best.
Written by Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst
India is one of the world’s largest buyers of military equipment. This makes it a particularly important customer for a number of leading arms exporters, including Russia, France, the United States, etc. Due to its over half a century long close ties with Moscow, Delhi is a premier user of Russian weapons, ranging from modernized AK-200 series of assault rifles to nuclear-powered submarines. This cooperation also involves significant technology transfers, including hypersonic weapons and advanced developments in aviation. India was even part of the FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) program that nearly resulted in the joint production of an Indian Su-57 derivative by Sukhoi and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited).
While the Indian Air Force (IAF) acquired a number of French and Israeli systems, most of its equipment, including fighters and missiles, is still of Russian origin. This includes the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets, the best in IAF, constituting nearly half its squadrons (14 out of 30). There are also the MiG-29UPG and MiG-21 fighters, the IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft and IL-78 tankers.
India has also converted two IL-76s into AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) platforms. Naturally, such a high percentage of Russian jets also means that IAF operates numerous Russian weapons, including the R-77 and R-73 air-to-air missiles, the Kh-59, Kh-35 and Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles, along with the KAB series of laser-guided bombs.
The Indian military also operates Russian Mi-17 multirole, Mi-35 attack and Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopters, as well as the now legendary S-400 SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems, deliveries of which began in December 2021, in addition to numerous other Russian air defense systems. According to various estimates, upwards of 85% of Delhi’s massive military is using weapons, munitions and equipment bought from Moscow.
Although India has started diversifying its weapons procurement, Russia is still at the forefront. As previously mentioned, this also includes hypersonic technologies, as BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian missile-producing joint venture, is testing the highly anticipated “BrahMos II” scramjet-powered missile.
All this suggests that Delhi is highly unlikely to phase out Russian weapons any time soon. On the contrary, it’s only logical that the Indian military will continue to acquire new arms from Moscow. This year’s Aero India indicates precisely this will happen in the near future. Namely, the Su-57 made its debut at India’s largest air show, leading to reasonable speculation that Delhi will procure the advanced Russian fighter.
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Interestingly, the Su-57 also had its first encounter with the F-35, the most troubled weapon system of this century. The latter was even scheduled for a demo flight, but for some “inexplicable reason”, the US decided not to move forward with this. The only logical conclusion is that it wanted to avoid yet another humiliation for the already deeply troubled F-35.
Washington DC is still trying to woo Delhi to acquire more American weapons, particularly fighter jets such as the F-21, an advanced F-16 derivative “with F-22 and F-35 DNA”. The latter’s lack of a demo flight is very indicative of its reputation within the Indian military, which is particularly worried about the fact that countries with F-35s are virtually always subjected to unacceptable levels of control, risking their sovereignty while also acquiring a mediocre aircraft at best.
The US-made jet started this year “just phenomenally”, first by crashing in Alaska (along with Lockheed Martin’s stocks) and then by getting even more cuts in orders, including by the US and UK. Worse yet, the latest report on the F-35’s performance shows that very little (if anything) was done to improve it.
In stark contrast, the Su-57 is battle-proven in the largest conventional conflict in decades, despite incessant attempts to slander the Russian jet. However, while the US finances propaganda against Moscow’s weapons systems through its extensive network of “independent media”, the reality is completely different.
Many analysts have suggested that the cancellation of the F-35’s demo flight is “intended to avoid unfavorable comparisons with the Su-57, the flight performance of which is considered overwhelmingly superior”. What’s more, the Russian jet’s already fantastic AL-41F1 3D TVC (thrust vectoring controls) engines will soon be replaced by the next-generation AL-51F. Meanwhile, the F-35 is still struggling with its F135 engines which are prone to overheating and failures in general.
In addition, the US-made jet’s combat (and even peacetime) record is thoroughly unimpressive, to put it mildly. While the Su-57 is regularly conducting SEAD (suppression of enemy air defenses), air-to-air and air-to-ground missions in areas heavily saturated by SAM systems, the F-35 is barely capable of matching countries that should be relatively easy to bully into submission.
Also, as previously mentioned, India is extremely worried about the US controlling such weapons systems. According to retired Air Marshal Anil Chopra, his country “remains cautious about the US tendency to exert pressure and abandon allies when its own interests diverge with theirs, as well as potential US expectations for India to distance itself from Russia”. This is a clear indicator that the old Indo-Russian military partnership is more than alive and well.
Air Marshal Chopra also stressed that “choosing a reliable partner country that won’t impose undue pressure is crucial”, which is a very clear reference to the US. This further implies that the American jet is out, thus leaving just the Su-57 as the only viable and timely option for the IAF. This notion is further reinforced by Moscow’s official offer to jointly produce the Russian jet with Delhi, which would effectively restart the FGFA program.
What’s more, there are reliable reports that the first Su-57E (export version) will be delivered to an unnamed foreign customer. This could be Algeria or possibly Vietnam, as they’ve been eyeing the Russian jet for decades. India is highly unlikely to get its first Su-57 this year, as it hasn’t even officially ordered it yet. However, the latest developments are a clear indicator that no sanctions or pressure could shake the foundations of the multipolar world.
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the f35 is a $400 million flying turkey. the whole programme has cost $2 trillion to date – trillion with a t. just another wunderwaffe. strange. america used to produce some great aircraft – mustang, flying fortress, phantom, boeing 707/ 747, now it just makes complete garbage like the f22/ 35, boeing 737, boondoggles and flying coffins. this mirrors german ww2 experience – their next generation of replacement aircraft were complete failures.