
Why Modi govt may reject F-35A, Su-57E offers from US & Russia? India may opt for…
News
Why Modi govt may reject F-35A, Su-57E offers from US & Russia? India may opt for…
Why Modi govt may reject F-35A, Su-57E offers from US & Russia? India may opt for…
Many defense experts believe that until the AMCA is ready to fly, an immediate interim solution is needed to balance the growing airpower of China and Pakistan. Platforms like the Su-57 can give India this interim edge, but the F-35 is more powerful.
Why Modi govt may reject F-35A, Su-57E offers from US & Russia? India may opt for...
India's Defence Secretary RK Singh indicated that India is seriously considering the option of purchasing fifth generation fighter aircraft to meet short-term needs. He said that such purchases from 'friendly countries' are being seen as a strategic option. This statement of the Defence Secretary comes at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is about to visit India. India is also building its own indigenous AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft) fifth generation fighter aircraft, but it will take at least 8 to 10 years for it to be built and inducted into the Indian Air Force.
What has US offered to India?
Meanwhile, US has offered F-35 and Russia has offered SU-57 fifth generation fighter aircraft to India. It has not been disclosed yet whether India is currently eyeing the Russian Su-57 or the American F-35 . Moscow considers the SU-57 stealth fighter jet to be one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world. The Su-57 is a twin-engine multi-role stealth jet, equipped with supersonic speed, advanced avionics and electronic warfare capabilities. India has previously shown interest in this jet, but the deal could not move forward due to some technical and partnership disputes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to visit Delhi in September this year to attend the 'India-Russia Summit' held every year. Many defense experts believe that until the AMCA is ready to fly, an interim solution is urgently needed to balance the growing airpower of China and Pakistan.
What Su-57 can give India?
Platforms like Su-57 can give India this interim edge, especially if Russia shows flexibility on its transfer of technology or 'Make in India' provisions. Russia has offered to transfer the technology of the SU-57 fighter aircraft to India as well as hand over the source code. Russia has also offered India that if India buys SU-57, it will provide technological help in India's AMCA program.
Why is fifth-generation fighter aircraft important?
According to defense experts, choosing a fifth-generation fighter aircraft for countries like India has now become a question of not just technology but also strategy and geopolitics. In such a situation, India has only Russia's SU-57 and US F-35 Lightning II as the most prominent options. SU-57 is Russia's twin-engine stealth fighter known for supersonic speed, supermaneuverability and long-range missile attack capability. It has superior dogfighting capabilities and can play multi-roles, from air dominance to ground attack. On the other hand, F-35 is US single-engine stealth fighter known for network-centric warfare, sensor fusion and electronic warfare.
Its stealth capabilities are considered to be more than SU-57, but its mobility is slightly limited. In terms of geo-politics, access to F-35 is limited only to close US allies, while Russia offers SU-57 on more open terms. So the question for India is whether it will lean towards the West for technological superiority or towards Russia for strategic independence?
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest India News on India.com.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Print
14 minutes ago
- The Print
Modi's Bharat vs Indira's India: 11-yr report card of politics, diplomacy, economy, nationalism
Mrs Gandhi and Modi took over in completely different circumstances. There was also the differential in political capital they began with. Mrs Gandhi had not won an election in 1966. She was a convenient compromise after Lal Bahadur Shastri's death. She didn't help her cause by looking overawed in Parliament early on, and socialist Ram Manohar Lohia dismissed her as a 'goongi gudiya' (a doll who didn't speak). She had also inherited a broken economy. The growth rate in 1965 was negative, -2.6 percent in fact. The triple blow of a war, droughts, food shortages and instability, and the deaths of two Prime Ministers in harness within 19 months had weakened India. First of all, we need to look at the larger political realities in which each took over power and the challenges to their authority. Then we will assess their record across four dimensions: politics, strategic and foreign affairs, the economy, and nationalism. On the day Narendra Modi won his third term in June, 2024, it was inevitable that this year, he would become India's second longest serving Prime Minister in consecutive terms, surpassing Indira Gandhi (24 January, 1966 to 24 March, 1977). It also became inevitable, therefore, that around this time in 2025, the season of Modi vs Indira comparisons will begin. Let me be the first, or among the first, off the block. The picture for Modi in 2014 was the exact opposite. He won a majority, the first in India after 30 years, and was his party's chosen candidate; the economy was averaging a robust 6.5 percent growth across the preceding 15 years. His was a peaceful, planned, predictable electoral transition. The degree of difficulty on his first day in power was way lower than Mrs Gandhi's, just as his political capital was enormously higher. It is also important to underline that Mrs Gandhi's 11th year wasn't electorally earned, but self-gifted by mauling the Constitution in a Parliament where she had a brute majority (Congress was 352 out of 518) and the Opposition in jail. In contrast, Modi's third term was earned through general elections, though he fell short of a majority this time. His 11 years have seen no challenge, either within his party or from the Opposition. The global situation has also mostly remained stable and favourable, until the arrival of Trump 2.0. Also Read: RSS chief Bhagwat draws the line at 75. India's politics stares at the Modi Exception Now, the comparisons across the four dimensions we listed. On domestic politics, the first question is: who's been the strongest Prime Minister of India, Modi or Indira? The rest don't count. While Mrs Gandhi redefined her politics in an ideology (deep-pink socialist) first out of compulsion and then preference, Modi was born, dyed and seasoned in his (saffron). Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024. Even at 240 now, one challenge he need not bother about is from within his party. He's marginalised all, replacing the state satraps with unknown lightweights. That isn't so different from Mrs Gandhi. On ruthlessness, therefore, they are equally matched. On dealing with the Opposition and free speech, the Emergency will be a hard act to match even if somebody—God forbid—wished to do so. On the respect for institutions, the competition is tough, like a dead heat. For convenience, let's limit ourselves to just one institution: the Rashtrapati. With V.V. Giri, Mrs Gandhi reduced the job to that of a porcelain president: a fragile, ornamental object expected to do nothing except sign on the dotted line. The Modi era presidents have been of a piece with those. Modi rose with the power of a '56-inch chest', Mrs Gandhi was often described in times innocent of political correctness as the only man in her Cabinet. Both lived up to these propositions. With Mrs Gandhi, we saw another manifestation of political skill, out of power and back again in 1977-84. But that period is out of the syllabus in this 11-year comparison. Also Read: One prime minister's 19-month legacy is bigger than another's Emergency An important question is who kept India's cohesion better. Mrs Gandhi ruthlessly fought insurgencies in Mizoram and Nagaland. Her troubles on this score came post-1980. Modi has made a dramatic improvement in the Kashmir Valley, and continued with normalisation in the Northeast. But Manipur is an unending failure. A big positive is the near destruction of the Maoists in east-central tribal India. This dovetails neatly into strategic and foreign affairs. Mrs Gandhi's 11 years were across the peak of the Cold War. She signed a treaty with the Soviet Union with a cleverly drafted mutual security clause, endured the Nixon-Kissinger tilt to China, and deftly navigated the narrow spaces still available to India. Modi started out with a 'friends with all' approach but Pakistan-China realities soon caught up with personalised diplomacy. Mrs Gandhi announced India's nuclear status in 1974 (Pokhran-1) but it took Modi in 2019 (Balakot) and in 2025 (Operation Sindoor) to call Pakistan's nuclear bluff. That's a big plus in his corner. As things soured in the neighbourhood, India warmed up to the US/West and then the complexity of Ukraine arose. This gave rise to multi-alignment. The Trump bull has trampled all over this China shop. Pakistan is playing the US and China as it did in 1971. And like Mrs Gandhi then, Modi has to look for alternatives, but then, the Soviet Union is long gone. His predicament is tougher than Mrs Gandhi's in 1971, but India is enormously stronger. The economy is where we might have expected to see many contrasts, but surprisingly, there are many similarities, too. Modi came to power promising to be the exact opposite of Mrs Gandhi, asserting that it's no business of the government to be in business. But on many basic instincts, he's emulated her. The larger, if enormously more efficient distributive politics, for example. An abiding commitment to the public sector instead of privatisation. Even this year, the budget allocated Rs 5 trillion for fresh investments in PSUs. Compare that with our defence budget, Rs 6.81 trillion. Modi has brought in some significant reform—digital payments, GST and the bankruptcy code. Many others, from mining to manufacturing and electricity economics, are meandering. In his first and second terms, Modi attempted some audacious reform—land acquisition, farm and labour reform laws, lateral entry into civil services. All have been given up now. Until Trump came to power, Modi seemed settled into the 6-6.5 percent figure, which we'd risk calling the Hindutva rate of growth. The logic: a politics driven by Hindu identity and polarisation would win elections with 6-6.5 percent risk-free. The Trump arm-twisting and the resultant free trade agreements have rocked that leisurely cruise. Let's see if this can force fresh reform at gunpoint. And finally, how do we compare the two greatest proponents of employing nationalism in their politics? For Mrs Gandhi the backdrop was multiple wars between 1962 and 1971. India was already a jai jawan, jai kisan country. The liberation of Bangladesh, Green Revolution and non-aligned world's adulation fuelled her nationalism. Modi's nationalism is more muscular, in military livery. We can't prejudge the consequences of a commitment trap in promising to respond militarily to a terror act and leave it to historians to reflect on the consequences of such strategic predictability. Under Modi, a new Hinduised nationalism has emerged. While this has united a critical mass of Hindus to keep him secure, it has also created divisions. India's adversaries would be tempted to run a dagger through these. We've seen the Pakistanis try that not just with our Muslims but also the Sikhs, especially during Operation Sindoor. Also Read: You can put words in Mrs Gandhi's mouth & get away. But too much fiction, and you mess with Bhindranwale


Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: Turnaround in ties between India, Maldives; ICMR's Project Namak; rise in coconut oil prices
Good morning, India is set to celebrate the 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas today, marking its victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War in 1999. However, there are still some unanswered questions regarding the failures that allowed Pakistani troops to occupy Indian territory without detection. In recent years, there have been numerous public accounts where senior officers have revealed that there were tell-tale signs indicating something was amiss weeks or months before the intrusions were discovered. One of them claimed that intelligence agencies and Army leadership made insufficient efforts to determine why the Pakistan Army replaced regular infantry battalions along the Line of Control (LoC) with Northern Light Infantry (NLI) units. While these claims and statements cannot be wished away, they will continue to resonate on every Kargil war anniversary until a definite answer is found. With that, let's move on to the top 5 stories from today's edition: 🚨 Big Story After announcing a Rs 4,850-crore line of credit to the Maldives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his confidence in the friendship between the two nations. During the PM's two-day state visit, India also launched talks on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Maldives. Modi said the Maldives holds an important place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, underlining that cooperation in defence and security is a testament to mutual trust. The turnaround in the bilateral ties assumes significance as Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, known to be close to China, came to power in the island nation in November 2023 on the back of an 'India Out' campaign. Arguably, New Delhi's sustained efforts, including assisting the island nation in dealing with economic woes, helped bring the relations back on track. ⚡ Only in Express The Fault in our Salt: Prompted by the 'alarming' salt consumption patterns in India, mainly through ultra-processed food, ICMR-NIE has launched Project Namak, a three-year-long community-led programme focusing on salt reduction in individuals with hypertension. While the permissible amount of salt consumption, as prescribed by the World Health Organisation, is 5 g a day per person (2,000 mg of sodium or about a teaspoon of salt), several studies have pointed to how Indians consume more than double the amount, posing risks of hypertension, stroke and heart diseases. Others have also warned against consuming 'too little salt.' How does one strike a balance with something as ubiquitous as salt? 💡 Express Explained Even as India's annual retail food inflation rate fell to minus 1.06% in June, the lowest since January 2019, consumers continue to feel the pinch from higher costs of some items. Among them are vegetable oils, especially coconut oil, selling for around Rs 460 per kg, close to double its early-January price of Rs 240-250, equivalent to three times the cost of other cooking oils. This makes coconut oil more expensive now than sesame (or gingelly) oil. What could be the factors behind the increase in oil prices? We explain. ✍️ Express Opinion In our Opinion section today, Chintan Vaishnav delves into a significant evolution in the G20's architecture in 2023 when Startup20 was formally recognised as an official Engagement Group of the G20. Vaishnav highlights the initiative's success: 'As Startup20 enters its third year, we must still ask the foundational question: What is this forum doing that wouldn't happen otherwise? The answer is clear: Startup20 provides the world's highest policy platform where G20 nations' start-up and SME ecosystems can collectively articulate their needs — needs that no single country can address alone.' 🍿 Movie Review Wondering what to watch this weekend? We've got you covered! The Fantastic Four: First Steps has hit the screens, allowing you to wander around the Marvel world again. Shalini Langer, in her review, writes: 'As far as world-destruction events go, First Steps is as ambitious as they come… It may seem all too familiar if you are just coming off the latest Superman. The difference is, unlike the chaos of that film from two weeks ago, you can slide into this Fantastic Four reboot, and feel safe and warm, like home. A lot has to do with the fantastic four at the heart of this Marvel family, who live together and eat together, and are played by actors who play well off each other, particularly the always-splendid Kirby.' That's all for today. Have a lovely weekend! Until next time, Ariba


India Today
14 minutes ago
- India Today
It was my mistake: Rahul Gandhi admits failure in understanding OBC plight
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday admitted that not conducting a caste census earlier was his mistake and pledged to correct it now. Speaking at the 'Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan' organised for the OBC community at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the caste census exercise recently carried out in Telangana would trigger a political earthquake across the on his 21-year political career, Gandhi said he had done justice to several issues, including the land acquisition bill, MGNREGA, the food bill, and the rights of tribal he acknowledged falling short in protecting the interests of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). He said that while he had always understood the issues faced by Dalits and Scheduled Tribes, he had not grasped the concerns of OBCs deeply enough in the past. He told the gathering that it was not the Congress party but he himself who had erred in not pushing for a caste census earlier. "I regret that if I had known more about your history and issues, I would have got the caste census conducted. That is my mistake and not that of the Congress. I am going to correct that mistake now," Gandhi further asserted that all Congress-ruled states would carry out a caste census and conduct what he termed an "X-ray" of the described the Telangana caste census as a seismic political development whose aftershocks would soon be felt nationally. He said the timing of the exercise was appropriate, as it would now be carried out with greater depth and purpose than it might have been years Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said that he had met him personally a few times and found him to be "all show and no substance".He claimed that the media had "inflated" PM Modi's image and said the prime minister was not a real problem. "You have given him too much importance. He is not a problem," he said, telling the crowd that after meeting Modi, he realised "there is nothing". Gandhi appealed to OBC youth to recognise their own strength, claiming the RSS was their "biggest enemy" for attempting to erase their history. He said this erasure had been going on for thousands of years in various forms. He urged OBC youth to unite and be aware of their rights and reiterated the Congress party's commitment to conducting caste censuses in all states under its rule and to removing the 50 per cent cap on reservations. He said data was crucial in the 21st century and pointed out that the Telangana government now had data to show the representation of SC, ST, and OBC communities in corporate management and other added that while these communities were poorly represented in high-value corporate packages, they were overrepresented in low-wage jobs under MGNREGA and among gig findings from the Telangana caste survey, Gandhi said the data revealed a stark lack of representation of OBCs in the power structure. He called OBCs the "productive power" of the country, responsible for producing food, building infrastructure, and supporting essential services, but receiving little in return."If you build the country with your blood, sweat and hard work, what does the country give you in return?" he also alleged that the BJP and RSS were working to wipe out the history of OBCs because they feared that once the community understood its true identity, it would realise that the RSS was its greatest senior Congress leaders, including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Sachin Pilot and Anil JaiHind were present at the event.- EndsTune InMust Watch