Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered New Delhi Russia’s fifth-generation stealth aircraft Sukhoi Su-57 and proposed its joint production in India, highlighting the strong strategic partnership between the two countries. In an interaction with heads of leading global news agencies on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Economic Forum last night, Mr. Putin said, Moscow is still keen to involve New Delhi in the Su-57 aircraft programme. Mr. Putin also expressed Russia’s willingness to collaborate with India on other critical defence platforms, including integrated air defence systems and related hardware.
India is developing an indigenous air defence system, Sudarshan Chakra, with Russian-origin S-400 missile systems expected to be a key component. Earlier, India signed a five US billion deal with Russia to procure five S-400 air defence missile system units despite US warnings that the purchase could trigger sanctions. Four squadrons have been delivered, while the fifth is yet to arrive.
