By Awad Mustafa 1:34 p.m. EDT March 8, 2015
New Delhi Won't Comment on 5th-Gen Fighter Contract with
Russia
ABU DHABI — Moscow and New Delhi have agreed to perform
design work in India on what Russia claims would be a "fifth
generation" version of the Su-35, an agreement that may lead to an Indian
variant of the fighter jet, the Russian Military Complex chief said.
The announcement makes India the first country to sign a
contract, however preliminary, for the S version of the Su-35.
"We have been negotiating and have signed the intention
protocol for the Su-35," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said during the IDEX show
in Abu Dhabi last month. "Now we are working on designing ideas for this
contract and on creating a manufacturing platform for the aircraft of the fifth
generation."
Rostec is Russia's state-run corporation that oversees
export of high-tech products.
Chemezov said the jet would be developed to meet the Indian
Air Force's requirements. He did not say how many of the jets India might plan
to buy.
Russia claims the Su-35S would be a fifth generation
fighter, as opposed to the legacy fourth generation Su-35. That implies
stealth, but it's unclear whether the jet would be on par with an F-35 joint
strike fighter.
In India, however, no source in the Defence Ministry could
confirm that any deal had been signed with Russia on the Su-35S. An Air Force
official did say that the Russians have made one or two Su-35S presentations in
the past six months on how it can help replace India's MiG-21 and MiG-27
fighter aircraft, which are due for retirement in seven or eight years.
Russian industry sources said the fighter will be priced at
$85 million. That could make it competitive with Dassault Aviation's Rafale,
and could have implications for India's proposed purchase of 126 Rafales. New
Delhi selected the Rafale as the preferred bidder in a protracted competition in
2012, but has yet to make a final decision on the purchase.
Indian and French defense ministers discussed the Rafale
deal during Jean-Yves Le Drian's recent visit to India, an Indian MoD source
said. But Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar did not provide a time
commitment to Le Drian on when the deal will be signed.
Parrikar told Le Drian that state-owned Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has been asked to complete cost estimates for the
Rafales it will build under license.
The French defense minister's spokesman was not available
for comment.
A Dassault Aviation spokesman, asked about the Indian
agreement for design work on the Su-35S, said the Indian Air Force chief has
said a Sukhoi cannot replace a Rafale.
In India, the Economic Times, reported on Feb. 19 that
Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha ruled out a purchase of additional Su-30s as
the Russian fighter and the Rafale complemented each other rather than the
former replacing the latter.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to visit Paris in
April, which could be an opportunity for some clarification on the potential
Rafale deal, Agence-France Presse has reported.
Russian aircraft makers have been eagerly proclaiming their
willingness to step in if India ultimately rejects the French jet. Many believe
Russia wants to undercut France as punishment for Paris refusing to deliver two
Mistral helicopters carriers to Russia amid deepening tensions with Ukraine.
"If [India] needs additional Su-30MKI fighters, then we
are ready to work out such an agreement," Sergei Goreslavsky, deputy
director of Russia's arms export agency Rosoboronexport, told the RIA Novosti
news agency on Feb. 16. India operates a large fleet of Sukhoi Su-30 fighters,
some of which have been locally produced by HAL.
And Russia's RSK MiG says it would offer an upgraded version
of its developmental MiG-35 if India reopens the tender.
"We have every chance to compete [for the
contract]," MiG chief Sergei Korotkov said at Aero India on Feb. 18,
according to the RIA Novosti new agency. "We have not lost hope that a
future tender or competition will be announced."
India remains dependent on Russia to supply weaponry and the
two countries have been successful in conducting joint development programs
involving advanced technologies, including the co-production of the supersonic
BrahMos cruise missile.
"Efforts will be made to modernize the Indian defense
forces with emphasis on Make-in-India defense programs," an Indian MoD
official said. "India remains committed to buy advanced
technologies."
India's dependence on Russia for the bulk of its weapons
systems, said defense analyst Nitin Mehta.
"India wants to buy advanced systems like the Rafale,
even at a higher cost," he said. "[But] dependence on Russians will
remain ... and it would be difficult to find the resources to replace these
with advanced systems immediately."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Su-35S would
enter Russian service this year as part of the expansion of the Air Force and
Naval Aviation branch.
"Currently, we're testing a new Su-35S multifunctional
fighter jet. This year, the new aircraft should enter service. This is the main
task for this year," Shoigu said in February.
China is also considering a purchase of Su-35s. A February
report by Zvezda, a television network run by the Russian military, said that
long-running talks might conclude with a deal to buy 24 fighters on May 19.
Chemezov said that the contract, if signed, would provide
China with the fourth-generation Su-35, not India's fifth-generation S model.
"This aircraft is called Su-35-4 plus PAK-FA generation
and we are negotiating with China and we are in progress and I hope it will be
over soon. I wouldn't like to discuss contracts that have still not been
signed," he said. "The important point is that this is a very unique
aircraft that has not been delivered to any country."
Another potential customer for the Su-35 is Egypt. Last
fall, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah
el-Sisi signed an arms deal reportedly worth $3.5 billion. Egyptian media
reported that the package included Su-35s.
But Chemezov said no firm purchase deal had been settled.
"We have not signed anything with Egypt; we signed an
intention protocol and we are negotiating it. I hope soon we will sign a contract,"
he said.
Experts have suggested that Egypt, long a customer of US
arms makers, would have trouble integrating Russian hardware.
"This would require a significant investment and both
sides have been in negotiations for years without results," said Ruslan
Aliev, of Moscow's Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.
But Chemezov said the two countries have already agreed on
training protocols in case the purchase goes through.
"As a matter of fact, the terms and conditions of the
contract that have been signed maintain not only the delivery and other terms
but also the training," he said. "First the pilot will be trained in
Russia and later in Egypt, as an example when we supplied the helicopters to
the Pentagon, which were then delivered to Afghanistan the pilots took their
training to Russia."
Pierre Tran in Paris and Vivek Raghuvanshi in New Delhi
contributed to this report.
