Russia has said the maiden flight of the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), being developed by its Sukhoi design bureau in tie-up with Indian aerospace and defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), will be made by the end of the year.
Scrutinising the Sukhoi Corporation's work on the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft -- a project that India will soon sign up to co-develop -- gives one an idea of Russia's size, and its aerospace expertise.
The Russian agencies concerned are carrying out studies to determine the level of investments they will have to make to manufacture the aircraft in India, defence sources said.
The fifth generation fighter is based on the Sukhoi fighter and is expected to take its maiden flight in 2009.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation has initiated talks with the Indian Air Force to design and develop a fifth generation fighter plane, to be called Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA).
China's massive military lead over India has never been starker. On Tuesday, amidst fanfare, Defence Minister A K Antony travelled to Bengaluru for a milestone in the development of India's 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft, a fourth-generation fighter that is still two years away from full service. The same day, an advanced, fifth-generation stealth fighter -- so far only speculated about, as the J-20 -- made its first flight in China.
In a first, the 'Aero India' mega event will witness participation of two of the world's most advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft equipped with stealth capabilities -- the Russian Su-57 and the American F-35 Lightning II, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.
Private and public defence players can bid to participate in the stealth fighter development programme independently, as a joint venture, or as consortia.
Russia has made a new offer on the delivery of Sukhoi T-50 (PAK FA) fighter jets to India under the joint FGFA initiative.
The proposal, expected to be worth over Rs 2 lakh crore, including the indigenous content of more than 60 percent, is expected to be taken up for discussion by the Defence Procurement Board headed by the defence secretary in the next few weeks.
"The contract for the detailed design would be signed soon and that will be a major milestone. It should be signed in the second half of the year," a top official involved in the negotiations with Russia on the project said.
The final approval for the acquisition of 97 LCA Mark 1A fighters was given by a high-level meeting on Tuesday and will pave the way for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to produce the aircraft, defence sources told ANI.
The aircraft was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales due to adverse weather conditions.
If I were to explain stealth to a layperson, I'd ask them to think of the game chupan-chupai (hide and seek) we played as children, explains Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
On the issue of an agreement with China for military exercises in the Indian Ocean, Mukherjee said India had not signed any such pact.
Two Elon Musk from November 2024 surfaced online over the weekend in which he can be seen criticising the US' F-35 fighter aircraft which President Donald J Trump offered to sell India during Prime Minister Narendra D Modi's visit to the White House on Thursday.
This was the first time two chiefs of the armed forces undertook a flight together.
By threatening to punish India with high tariff, Trump is actually planting a tantalising thought in the Indian mind that the Modi government should suitably 'incentivise' him, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
While the peacetime stranding of a foreign fighter jet is rare in India, the F-35 -- a military asset of a foreign country with which India has strategic relations -- was being guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force, the agency responsible for security at Indian airports.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the "execution model" for the indigenous development of a fifth-generation deep penetration advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) for the Indian Air Force. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will execute the programme through industry partnership, with equal opportunities for both private and public sectors. The project is a major step towards "Aatmanirbharta" (self-reliance) in the aerospace sector and is expected to cost around Rs 15,000 crore.
The aircraft is awaiting repairs at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport after developing an engineering issue, a British high commission spokesperson said on Friday.
Seven years before its scheduled completion, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has already announced a two-year delay in the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) India and Russia are to jointly develop, says Ajai Shukla
Around 100 artistes heralded the parade, on the theme 'Vividata Mein Ekta (Unity in Diversity) that featured a grand presentation of musical instruments, demonstrating the nation's unity and rich cultural diversity.
The Indian government is dealing with the matter having in mind the national interests of this country in the first place, he said.
Ivanov said Russia was developing the new generation warplane on its own and had no plan yet to involve other countries in its project.
What was the aim of Operation Sindoor? Why was the operation halted so soon? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
'An HAL-private sector tieup is a possibility.'
Pakistan plans to procure 40 jets of advanced Chinese stealth fighter J-35, which, if materialised, will mark the first export of China's latest jet. The sale would mark Beijing's first export of fifth-generation jets to a foreign ally and is expected to recalibrate regional dynamics, particularly in relation to Pakistan's rival India. The acquisition of new aircraft was pursued despite the serious economic crisis faced by Pakistan. China has helped Pakistan to jointly develop and operate the J-17 Thunder fighter jet, the mainstay of the PAF. China has delivered four advanced naval frigates to the Pakistan Navy in the last few years to enable it to play a bigger role along with its navy in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
Air power is an indispensable aspect in any nation's security apparatus. Countries like India are aggressively pushing forward with plans to build a robust air force, arming themselves with tech-loaded aircraft. Let's take a look at some of the best fighter aircraft around the world today.
Noting that the India-specific fighter on offer and its programme's size, scope and success will enable Indian industry to take advantage of unprecedented manufacturing, upgrade and sustainment opportunities well into the future, Lall said the platform will give Indian industry a unique opportunity to become a part of the world's largest fighter aircraft ecosystem.
Indian Air Force officials have held talks with Director General of Sukhoi Mikhail Pogosyan to develop and manufacture the fifth generation fighter aircraft. The Russian delegation included representatives of Rosoboronexport state-run weapons trading company ARMS-TASS reported quoting the Sukhoi press service.
The Russians have termed Putin's visit to India, his first to this country since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, as 'Druzhba Dosti', which means 'friendship' in Russian and Hindi respectively.
India and Russia are expected to sign the first of a series of agreements for the development of fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to meet futuristic requirements of the Indian Air Force during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi later this week.
HAL's order book amounts to Rs 2.45 trillion by end of Q2FY26, implying a book-to-bill ratio of 32 times based on FY25 revenue.
"The joint development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft will mark the start of cooperation in the development of major state-of-the-art new technology weapon systems," Antony said, adding that both India and Russia would have equal financial and technological stakes and issues related to the intellectual property and specific requirement of the Indian Air Force have been resolved.
India is planning to deploy its 290km range supersonic BrahMos cruise missile on the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft being developed with Russia. "If we are able to reduce the weight of the missile below two tonnes, we can deploy it on the FGFA and we are looking to do that in future," BrahMos Aerospace chief A Sivathanu Pillai said.
HAL aims to raise output from the current ceiling of 24 aircraft a year to 30 by the end of 2027
"Rafale contract caters for delivery time between 36 months to about 66 months if I am not wrong. So within three years time we will have the first few aircraft delivered to us and within five and a half years we will have two full squadron of aircraft in operation," Raha said at a function in Kolkata.
Vice Admiral K Swaminathan highlights concerns over Pakistan's arms procurement and China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean Region.
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