India Free to Choose Between F-35 and Su-57, Says Russian Envoy
Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov says India's fighter jet choice is sovereign, calls the F-35 good but expensive, and pitches the Su-57.
Any decision on whether India buys the American F-35 or the Russian Su-57 rests solely with New Delhi, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said, adding that no outside party, including Russia, has a say in it.
Speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit in a session titled 'The Next Chapter of India-Russia Defence Ties', Alipov said the United States is free to market its aircraft, describing the F-35 as a capable platform that is nevertheless far too costly. He said Russia is offering a considerably better deal, and hinted at several firsts expected at next year's Bengaluru air show.
His remarks come as six US F-35 Lightning II jets and more than 200 American personnel arrived in India for their first participation in Exercise Tarang Shakti. Reports over the past two years have suggested India is unlikely to purchase the F-35.
Alipov framed the India-Russia defence relationship as one built on trust and consistency, noting that New Delhi has sourced major platforms from Moscow for decades, including the MiG-21 and MiG-29. He said the two countries have never treated their ties as a zero-sum arrangement or tied them to shifting global circumstances, and pointed to the BrahMos cruise missile as the strongest example of their joint work. Next year, he added, marks 80 years of diplomatic relations.
The envoy also referred to a comment by a senior US official at the Raisina Dialogue this year that Washington would not allow India to emerge as the next China, calling it a revealing remark. He argued that as India grows stronger, the US would seek to contain it, and cited the proposed Graham Act in that context.
India operates a large inventory of Russian military hardware while also having acquired American platforms in recent years, including transport aircraft and attack helicopters. The Su-57, a stealth fighter, is designed for a broad range of missions against air, ground and maritime targets, and can operate around the clock in poor weather and under electronic warfare conditions, with low observability meant to cut its vulnerability to modern air defences.