Putin Offers Su-57 Stealth Fighter to India, Signals Openness to Joint Production

By Mahima Katal

St. Petersburg, June 5: Russian President Vladimir Putin has renewed Moscow’s offer to supply India with its fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Sukhoi Su-57, and indicated that Russia would be willing to jointly develop and manufacture the aircraft with New Delhi.

Speaking during an interaction with heads of leading international news agencies in St. Petersburg on Thursday, Putin said Russia remains open to deepening defence-industrial cooperation with India through the Su-57 programme.

“We offered our friends from India to jointly develop this machine, a fifth-generation aircraft,” Putin said. “In principle, this could have been our joint product. We are ready to work with India, to work and develop. There will be no restrictions whatsoever.”

The remarks come as India weighs options to strengthen its air combat capabilities while pursuing its indigenous Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme, a fifth-generation fighter project that is not expected to enter service before the mid-2030s.

India and Russia had previously explored a joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme based on the Su-57 platform. However, New Delhi withdrew from the project after years of negotiations, citing concerns over costs, technology transfer, and operational requirements. The programme was estimated to cost around USD 30 billion.

Despite the earlier setback, discussions between India’s state-owned aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau are understood to be continuing, keeping open the possibility of future collaboration.

India’s interest in acquiring a limited number of fifth-generation fighters has intensified amid growing regional security challenges and delays in indigenous development programmes.

Defence analysts have suggested that New Delhi may consider procuring a small fleet of foreign stealth aircraft as an interim solution until the AMCA becomes operational.

Putin also reiterated Russia’s willingness to cooperate with India on advanced air defence systems and related technologies.

“The same goes for air defence systems,” he said, adding that Moscow is prepared to work with New Delhi on future air defence projects.

India already operates the Russian-made S-400 Triumf air defence system under a USD 5 billion agreement signed in 2018. While four of the five contracted squadrons have been delivered, the final unit is still awaited.

The S-400 system remains a central component of India’s layered air defence architecture and is expected to complement indigenous programmes currently under development.

Russia has traditionally been India’s largest defence supplier, although New Delhi has increasingly diversified its procurement sources in recent years due to concerns over supply-chain disruptions and delivery delays linked to the war in Ukraine.

According to the Stockholm-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India was the world’s second-largest arms importer between 2021 and 2025, with Russia accounting for the largest share of its defence imports.