The Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Defence, Rajesh Kumar Singh, has confirmed that India does not plan to procure new Russian Sukhoi fighter jets, including models such as the Su-57. Singh stated that the current focus of Indian authorities is on the modernization of the existing aircraft fleet rather than acquiring additional aerial assets. He clarified the stance on potential purchases, noting, “No, we have not considered the purchase of new Sukhoi aircraft.
India is actively working on modernizing the Su-30 aircraft that we already produce under Russian license.”
The statement addresses previous discussions regarding potential acquisitions, according to reports that indicated the Russian side had offered India the purchase of between 36 and 40 aircraft. Currently, the nation operates an established inventory, including approximately 260 Su-30MKI aircraft, which are manufactured domestically through a licensed agreement with Russian technology. The emphasis, therefore, remains on enhancing the capabilities of the existing operational air assets through upgrades and modernization programs, rather than integrating a significant number of new platforms into the inventory at this time.
This policy signals a strategic prioritization of sustaining and upgrading current hardware over expanding the fleet size with recently developed Russian models.
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