SU-57 FOR INDIA?

JOSEPH P CHACKO makes a strategic, technical and programmatic assessment of the Russian fifth-generation aircraft for the Indian Air Force

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When it comes to purchasing and manufacturing fifth-generation fighter jets, India faces a critical decision. The changing situation in the region, especially China's growing fifth-generation fleet and reports of China selling fifth-generation types to Pakistan, are reported to have made New Delhi even more eager to get a modern stealth platform. Russia has offered to let India make the Su-57, and the US has occasionally suggested the F-35 as a possibility. India is also putting a lot of money into its own Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

This article looks at how well the Su-57 would work for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in terms of capability, logistics, and interoperability. It also compares it to the F-35 offer, takes into account Chinese developments and Pakistani purchases, looks at the AMCA timeline, and finally asks whether the Su-57 and AMCA would be competitors or complementary assets for India's long-term airpower.

Strategic context: why India needs a fifth-generation capability now

The regional security environment is driving demand for fifth-generation fighters in South Asia. China already has a growing fleet of J-20 stealth aircraft and is still modernising manufacturing and variants. This makes China's stealth-capable airpower much stronger in the area around the subcontinent. Furthermore, many reliable reports from 2024 to 2025 say that Pakistan plans to or is starting to acquire Chinese fifth-generation types (reports have mentioned platforms like the FC-31 or China's newer J-35 series). This makes it harder for India to achieve the same level of capability in the same amount of time. These are not just ideas; open-source reporting and declarations from Pakistan have stressed that they want to buy Chinese stealth planes.