With President Vladimir Putin’s visit, India and Russia will resume negotiations for the sale of Russian weaponry, a proposal that contemplates the acquisition of Su-57 fifth-generation stealth fighters and the S-500 air defense complex. However, the initiative could generate friction between New Delhi and Washington, given the stance maintained by the White House regarding this type of purchase and possible sanctions.
According to what was reported by Bloomberg, India is willing to begin talks with Russia to negotiate the purchase of new Su-57 fighters and S-500 anti-air systems. Sources close to the cited outlet indicated that the potential negotiations would take place within the framework of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership maintained by Moscow and New Delhi, a relationship that is not viewed favorably by the Trump administration.
It is worth recalling that India already evaluated the Su-57 fighter under its FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) program almost a decade ago. At that time, Russia had placed the PAK-FA—today known as the Su-57—at its disposal as a solution to the Indian requirement. The project contemplated cooperation and exchange with the local aerospace industry, with HAL at the forefront. However, the Indian Air Force would end up discarding the Russian fighter for various reasons, among them that it was not sufficiently stealthy.
According to various analyses, India’s reconsideration of the Sukhoi Su-57 is due to several geo-strategic and technical reasons. In the first case, New Delhi is not willing to cut its ties with Moscow, despite U.S. pressure and certain successes of U.S. arms sales, such as the AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, P-8i Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, and MH-60R Seahawk multipurpose naval helicopters.
As for the technical aspect, the Indian Air Force recently noted a capability gap after Operation Sindoor 2025, an action in which Indian and Pakistani air and air-defense assets faced off, with losses still not officially disclosed by either side. Although India still plans to continue expanding its fleet of Rafale fighter-bombers, the Su-57 could serve as a stealth stop-gap—or partial solution—until the local industry can materialize the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.
India seeks to reinforce its integrated air defense system
Negotiations between India and Russia would also extend to the S-500 air defense system, the most modern and capable currently offered by the Russian defense industry. The S-500 was conceived to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic threats, and space threats, providing coverage of up to 600 km for missiles and 480 km for other aerial targets.
In parallel, New Delhi is also interested in expanding its batteries of the S-400 anti-air system with the purchase of a complete system. This acquisition, which would be valued at more than USD 1.0 billion, will allow the reinforcement of the local integrated defense system with material already in service with the Indian Air Force.
In addition, interest in additional S-400s is also due to the good performance the system showed during Operation Sindoor 2025: the Indian Air Force indicated that the S-400s shot down between five and six Pakistani combat aircraft, a number that has not been independently corroborated.
The potential purchase of Su-57 fighters and S-500 systems opens the door to a new stage of cooperation between India and Russia, collaboration that will undoubtedly be objected to by the U.S. However, the Asian giant has shown that it has the leverage to work with different world powers while safeguarding its interests.
*Illustrative cover image. Credits: UAC
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