"Whatever You Need": Russia Offers "5th Generation Fighter" Tech To India

Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India next month, Moscow has made a significant military proposal to New Delhi that could potentially reshape the future of Indian air power. India's long-time ally has offered unrestricted access to technology for the new fifth-generation Su-57 stealth fighter jet to Delhi to support the country's future fighter aircraft requirements.

According to Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of Russian government-owned defence conglomerate Rostec, the proposal is to initially supply the Su-57 fighters produced in Russia and, along the way, shift the production to India in stages. 

That's not all. Reports suggest that Moscow may also offer its single-engine stealth fighter aircraft, the Su-75 Checkmate, to India as well.

No other nation has ever offered this level of access to its defence technology to India. If India accepts the proposal, it could get access to capabilities that Western nations have repeatedly refused to share and build upgraded stealth fighters independently.

What Russia Said

Speaking to the news agency ANI on the sidelines of the Dubai Air Show 2025, Chemezov said Moscow is willing to open the entire fifth-generation ecosystem to India, including the manufacturing of engines, sensors, stealth materials and more.

Highlighting the decades-old all-weather partnership between the two nations, Chemezov said any demand by the Indian side regarding the technology will be "completely acceptable".

"India and Russia have been partners for many years. Even when India was under sanctions, we supplied the country with weapons to ensure its security... Today, we continue the same approach as in previous years, supplying India with whatever military equipment it needs and ensuring our mutual interests in developing cooperation," the Rostec CEO said.

When asked about possible requests for more S-400 systems or the Su-57, he told ANI, "We have strong relations with India, and whatever India requires, we are here to support."

Later, a senior representative of Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, also highlighted that Moscow is offering India both licence production of air weapons for future generation aircraft and integration of Indian weapons. He stressed that Rosoboronexport is offering "technology transfer" and "technological learning" of new-generation technologies to India, including engines, optics, AESA radar, AI elements, low-signature technologies and modern air weapons.

Su-75 Checkmate Offer

Talking to The Eurasia Times, retired Indian Air Force Squadron Leader and defence analyst Vijainder K Thakur said the renewed Russian outreach is likely to include the single-engine Su-75 Checkmate.

He noted that Moscow has shown willingness to set up Su-75 production in a partner country, and India would be the most logical choice.

If this happens, local production of the Su-75 would close India's looming fifth-generation gap at an affordable price on top of generating billions in export revenue, just as BrahMos has done.

"And unlike the twin-engine AMCA under development, the single-engine Su-75 serves a completely different light/medium tactical role – the two programmes would complement, not compete with, each other," Thakur noted.

Putin's India Visit

Russian President Putin is expected to visit India in December for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit. He last visited India in December 2021 to attend the 21st edition of the meeting.

The Russian leader's India tour is expected to feature major announcements across the defence sector, for which diplomatic groundwork is already underway. 

Earlier this week, Putin's top aide and Chairman of the Maritime Board of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss various issues of bilateral cooperation.

Later, in a statement shared on Telegram, the Russian Embassy in India said that during Patrushev's visit, "parties discussed various issues of Russian-Indian cooperation, particularly in the maritime sector. The two sides emphasised their mutual interest in deepening interaction between Russia and India to strengthen their maritime capabilities. Preparations for the Russia-India Summit, scheduled for early December, were also touched upon."