Russia and India Had Big Plans to Build a Stealth Fighter. So What Happened?

By Zachary Keck,The National Interest

India backed out of a $9 billion agreement to develop a fifth-generation fighter jet with Russia because it didn’t need Moscow’s help, according to a new report.

On June 13, India’s Economic Timesreported that [3] Delhi pulled out of the agreement at the direction of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India’s premier defense technology agency. Citing “sources who were involved in the negotiations and are knowledgeable about the decision,” the Economic Times said the “final nail in the coffin” was DRDO’s insistence that it could develop all the technologies Russia was offering in the the PAK FA project.

Previously, it was believed that India had soured on the agreement because the Indian Air Force (IAF) didn’t believe that Russia’s designs could meet its operational needs. The new report said that the IAF did indeed have these concerns, however, they were informed that measures could be taken that could address these reservations. While these discussions were ongoing, DRDO was asked about its opinion of the project, and “whether the deal would result in the infusion of high-end technologies in India.” The “emphatic response by then DRDO chief, S Christopher,” was that his organization was capable of producing the necessary technology itself. This “sealed the fate of the program,” according to the Economic Times.

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The program to co-develop a fifth-generation fighter jet— called the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA)— dates back to 2007, when India and Russia signed a mutual agreement. The aircraft was envisioned [7] as a “multi-role, single seat, twin-engine air superiority/deep air support fighter with stealth capabilities and is based on the Sukhoi PAK FA (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation) T-50 prototype.” The 2007 agreement was followed three years later by the two sides signing a [8] $295 billion preliminary design contract for the fifth-generation aircraft. At that time, Russia agreed to purchase 250 planes while India signed on for 144 of them. But five years later, in 2015, Moscow announced that it would only be purchasing 12-16 planes, raising concerns in Delhi. This dispute held up the signing of a final design agreement in which both sides were expected to contribute $6 billion to the design and production of the plane. To appease India, Moscow made a number of concessions on the cost and number of prototypes of the plane, as well as other issues. While it once appeared things might be back on track— as late as January [9] of this year there were reports the contract would be signed soon— ultimately India appears to have pulled out of the agreement.