A year after India withdrew from a project with Russia to develop a customised version of the Su-57 stealth fighter, a senior official from Rostec, a Russian defence conglomerate, has stated that China “could be another opportunity” for the aircraft.
Speaking at the 2019 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in Malaysia, Viktor Kladov, director for international cooperation and regional policy at Rostec, announced that Russia was set to clear the Su-57 stealth fighter for export shortly. The export version of the fighter would be named the Su-57E.
A Chinese state-owned news website, Global Times, reported on Sunday that “China [was] to be offered Russia’s best warplane”. However, citing an interview with Wang Yongqing, chief designer at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, Global Times suggested that “integrating another fighter into the fleet” could raise challenges for China’s own fifth-generation J-20 fighter project. However, the Su-57E could be useful for a “technical study” for the Chinese military, the Global Times noted.
As reported by Jane’s Defence Weekly, Kladov said that the Middle East could also be a prospective market for the SU-57E, with the plane potentially to be unveiled at the Dubai Air Show in November this year. He identified India and China as likely customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
After over a decade of negotiations, India withdrew from the Fifth-General Fighter Aircraft project, which aimed to develop an Su-57 variant for the IAF, in July 2018. The FGFA was to feature 43 improvements over the standard Su-57, including a twin-seat design, a 360-degree AESA radar and improved supercruise (the ability to sustain supersonic flight without use of the engine's afterburner).
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Even as India expressed concerns over cost overruns and other performance aspects of the stealth fighter project, the Russian government also cut its production targets for the Su-57 from 150 to just 12 aircraft. Announcing India’s withdrawal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters that India might join the programme again at a later date.
Prototypes of the Su-57 were reportedly tested in Syria in February 2018. In March, Russian president Vladimir Putin said he considered the Su-57 to be the “world’s best aircraft”.
At present, China fields the J-20, an indigenous air superiority and strike fighter that has entered active service. The country also has the mid-sized J-31 fighter, a multi-role design, under development and a planned supersonic stealth strategic bomber named the Xian H-20. With the cancellation of the FGFA, India’s only stealth project is HAL’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
