The biggest and shocking news of this time is coming out from global defense corridors and strategic circles. Russia, one of the world's leading military superpowers, is showing unprecedented hesitation and restlessness to sell its most advanced and state-of-the-art 5th generation stealth fighter jet Sukhoi Su-57 (Su-57 Felon) to the Indian Air Force (IAF). Behind the back-to-back meetings and tempting proposals of Russian defense representatives from Moscow to New Delhi, there is not just a business relationship, but a deeper and bigger geopolitical crisis is hidden behind it. Defense experts believe that if India does not join this deal, this ambitious stealth fighter project of Russia may completely collapse, which will deal an irreparable blow to Russia's aerospace industry. Technical flaws of Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter jet and Russia's financial crisis. Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 jet looks very deadly and powerful on paper, but in reality this project is facing serious technical and financial crisis. The biggest feature of the fifth generation fighter planes is their 'stealth features' i.e. not being detected by radar. The radar cross-section of the Su-57 is much higher than that of the American F-35 Lightning II and the Chinese J-20, due to which serious questions have been raised about its stealth capability from the beginning. Apart from this, due to stringent economic and trade sanctions imposed by Western countries, Russia is facing huge difficulties in obtaining the necessary high-tech semiconductors and microchips. Due to the ongoing war and dwindling foreign exchange reserves, Moscow does not have the billions of dollars of funds required for mass production of this jet. Why is India's support the last hope for Russia's 5th generation fighter project? The Indian Air Force is one of the largest and most modern air forces in the world, and India's defense purchases provide global credibility to any foreign weapon system. India had earlier also worked with Russia on the FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) programme, but had walked away from it, expressing dissatisfaction over the aircraft's stealth capability, engine reliability and technology transfer (ToT) issues. Now that Russia is isolated, it desperately needs a big buyer who can invest heavily to keep its assembly lines running and cover its huge Research and Development (R&D) expenses. If India gives green signal to this project, Russia will not only get billions of dollars of capital, but the credibility of Su-57 in the global defense market will also return overnight. Western sanctions, shortage of spare parts and production disruptions are making it a nightmare for the Russian defense industry to produce the Su-57 on schedule, hit by international sanctions. Russia has been dependent on foreign parts for advanced avionics, radar warning receivers and optical targeting systems used in the aircraft. Due to broken supply chain, the Russian Air Force also has a very limited number of this stealth jet in service. If Russia does not get a huge defense market like India, the per-unit production cost will become so high that it will become impossible for the Russian Air Force itself to buy in large numbers. Due to this fear, Moscow is luring India to do local assembly under 'Make in India' and complete technology transfer so that the deal can be finalized at any cost. Indian Air Force's own priorities, AMCA and strong alternative to Rafale-M Despite Russian pressure and tempting offers, the Indian Air Force is moving forward in a very cautious and measured manner. India's first priority is to rapidly develop its indigenous 5th generation fighter jet AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft), so that the country can become completely self-reliant in the defense sector. Along with this, the Indian Air Force is focusing on purchasing additional Rafale fighter aircraft from France and modernizing its current fleet. Indian defense experts are clear that it can be risky to spend billions of dollars on a system whose future availability of spare parts is uncertain. Now it will be very interesting to see whether India completely rejects this offer from Russia or finds a new middle path.
