Yelahanka, Bengaluru: Russian plane-maker United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is willing to co-produce the fight-generation multirole fighter aircraft Sukhoi Su-57E, which has been the undisputed showstopper of Aero India 2025, in India under a transfer-of-technology arrangement, its CEO Vadim Badekha has said.
The Su-57, with NATO name FELON, is participating in Aero India for the first time, eyeing the Indian Air Force’s growing need for fighters even as the production of homegrown warplanes in India remains sluggish.
“We are ready, we are open to co-produce the aircraft (in India),” Badekha said, responding to a query from ABP Live. He also said India and Russia’s partnership in building Sukhoi fighters is decades old, and producing a fifth-generation version of the plane will therefore not be difficult.
UAC, which is part of Russian state-run defence conglomerate Rostec, manufactures the Sukhoi jets. Su-57E, which is the export version of the aircraft, has been enthralling spectators at Aero India.
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“India has been our strategic partner for decades. Majority of the aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force are UAC-manufactured, of MiG and Sukhoi origin… And we have been following the principle ‘Make In India’ much before it was announced as a scheme,” Badekha said, addressing a select group of journalists.
He also said India and Russia have “very deep technological cooperation”. He said this “transparent” partnership is the reason why Moscow has “never really sold” the Sukhois or MiGs to India but jointly produced them in a “tailor-made” style to meet the IAF’s needs.
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‘Natural Choice For Sukhoi Customers’
Badekha said that the Su-57 has an aerial superiority over other aircraft of its class such as the F-35 of American defence and aerospace major Lockheed Martin. However, he said, Russia is constantly making sure that the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter aircraft undergoes the process of constant evolution and upgradation.
He said Su-57 should be the “natural choice” for those countries whose air forces use the Sukhoi aircraft.
“This aircraft (Su-57) is made for those customers of ours who are already using the Sukhois… This will also be helpful for the availability of the aircraft engines. We may develop the next stage of engines also here in India,” Badekha said.
The Su-57 aircraft has already proven its stealth and capabilities as it has been involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as in combat missions in Syria.
“The aircraft has proven its characteristics of a fifth-generation aircraft during these combat missions,” Badekha said, adding that the aircraft is capable of dodging air defence systems and instead can target those with its heat-seeking capabilities.
Badekha also said UAC is open to the possibility of partnering with India by way of transfer of technology for the indigenously developed fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which has been in the doldrums for over two decades.
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