Search the Internet          Tips

India, China in competition to develop new Russian fighter

Sanjay Suri in London

India is competing with China to team up with the Sukhoi Design Bureau to develop a fifth-generation combat aircraft.

India and Russia have held advanced discussions on the joint development of the fighter, based on the S-37 Berkut (Golden Eagle), according to defence sources in London.

The status of the Chinese discussions with the Russian design team is not known.

The Russians are looking to build a new aircraft that can beat the American F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, which has high manoeuvrability and is capable of long flights at supersonic speeds. The US Air Force is scheduled to induct the first Raptors in 2005.

Russian Aerospace Agency director Yuri Koptev said Moscow needs to begin work urgently on the new fighter. "Such planes as the Su-27 and the MiG-29 and their modifications can stay competitive only for another seven to eight years, as the US is developing new-generation planes," he said.

"We need a new plane both for defence purposes and for preserving our position in the arms market."

Asked whether Russia was teaming up with the Chinese to develop this fifth-generation fighter, Koptev said: "Russia has been holding talks with its strategic partners concerning their participation in the development of such aircraft."

Sukhoi is in the process of supplying 50 Su-30MKI fighters to the Indian Air Force and has signed another contract to transfer technology to India for the licensed manufacture of 140 more of the fighter-interceptors by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, over the next 15 years.

The Russian firm is now keen to involve HAL and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation in the project, defence sources said.

The project was reportedly discussed in detail when Defence Minister Jaswant Singh visited Russia in June.

The S-37 has been test-flown several times since October 1997, but is yet to enter serial production. Like many other Russian defence projects, its progress has been affected by lack of funds.

The discussions between India and Russia also centred on the development of a new missile system, according to the sources. On June 12, Indian and Russian military scientists tested a new version of the Yakhont anti-ship missile, named the PJ-10, in the Bay of Bengal off Orissa.

The Mach 2.1 sea-skimming missile has a range of 280 km and can carry multiple warheads. The missile is also capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. It has a longer range if fired from the air.

Indo-Asian News Service

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report