New Delhi would certainly benefit from a co-production arrangement for the Su-57 Felon.
The defense partnership between India and Russia continues to expand. According to reports, Moscow and New Delhi are currently in discussions surrounding the potential joint production of the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter series. Specifically, Russian officials have expressed their nation’s intent to support India’s future fighter needs, including the unrestricted technology transfer for the fifth-generation platform. “Intensive work is underway across a range of areas, including the Su-57E platform, which can be utilized to implement India’s program for developing its own fifth-generation fighter,” Russian ambassador to India Denis Alipov said in an interview with TASS earlier this week.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is set to visit India for the 23rd annual summit, so further announcements pertaining to this potential arrangement should be expected. When the Su-57 was displayed at the Dubai Air Show previously this year, the CEO of Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec said, “We are ready to provide any weapons that India requires. We will maintain the same approach we have used in recent years to meet India’s demands regarding military equipment.” Chemezov added that “India and Russia have been partners for many years. Even when India was under sanctions, we (Russia) supplied the country with weapons to ensure its security.”
About the Su-57 Fighter
- Year Introduced: 2020
- Number Built: ~30-44
- Length: 20.1m (65 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in)
- Weight: 35,000 kgs (77,162 lbs.)
- Engines: Two Saturn AL-41F1 afterburning turbofan engines
- Top Speed: Mach 2.0
- Range: 3,500 km (2,200 mi) subsonic; 1,500 km (930 mi) supersonic
- Service Ceiling: 20,100 m (66,000 ft)
- Loadout: Air-to-air missiles: R-77M, R-37M. Air-to-surface missiles: KH-35UE, Kh-38M
- Aircrew: One to two, depending on the variant
Designated by NATO as the “Felon,” the Russian-made Su-57 fighter series was initially designed to directly counter the American-made F-22 Raptor platform. Following the collapse of the USSR, Russia’s aerial fleet was dependent on aging Soviet-era jets. The Su-57 was designed to serve as a replacement for the MiG-29 and Su-27 specifically. While the Felon certainly demonstrates a large technological leap for Russia in terms of fighter capability, the true extent of the platform’s specs remains questionable. Too few Su-57s have been introduced into service to pose a significant threat to the US Air Force’s existing fifth-generation F-22 and F-35 Lightning II jets.
On paper, the Felon theoretically is equipped with top-tier features like supermaneuverability, 3D thrust vectoring controls, and a large internal payload for multirole versatility. However, the Russian fighter also faces some setbacks. The jet’s canards are located ahead of its primary wings, which in turn increases the size of its radar cross-section, increasing the Felon’s detectability in the skies. Coupled with the fighter’s less angular design, this characteristic leads experts to believe that the Felon’s stealth is compromised.
Regardless of the platform’s potential shortcomings, New Delhi would certainly benefit from a co-production arrangement for the Su-57. Additionally, Moscow has been socially and economically isolated from the international community for its prolonged role in Ukraine. Further expanding defense ties with India will bode well for Russia’s export potential down the line.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, national security writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues. Carlin has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
Image: Shutterstock.
