Ahead of the meeting, Russian presidential spokesperson Peskov reiterated in Moscow Putin administration’s keenness to offer Su-57 fighter jets to India. Puting is landing in Delhi late on Thursday night and the bilateral meeting is scheduled for the next evening around 3 pm.
A feasibility study has already been done by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) — the state-owned company that has been carrying out licence production of Soviet-origin Su-30MKI — in collaboration with a Russian delegation comprising Sukhoi Design Bureau on Su-57 production in India late last year.
The Russian delegation post field visits of HAL’s Nashik division (which has final assembly line of Su-30 MKI), Koraput division (licensed production & overhaul of AL-31FP engine) and Strategic Electronics Factory (SEF) in Kasaragod ( which does avionics components such as airborne computers & display processors for jet) submitted a report that the defence PSU has between 50 per cent and 60 per cent infrastructure and facility for the production, businessline had reported in November, 2025.
The HAL had also submitted its report towards the end of 2025 to the Ministry of Defence that the project is doable and Su-57 can be rolled out in 2-3 years once the government give’s a go ahead to the acquisition of the aircraft deal. It had also provided a ball-point figure to the investment which would be required for the upgrades in the infrastructure, manpower and technology.
Sources indicate Moscow is pushing to fast-track the deal and plans to prioritise the issue during the Modi-Putin meeting. Their contention is that they are willing to offer complete ToT for the production of Su-57s which not even French are offering for Rafale co-production in India, sources added.
According to the ongoing negotiations, France has submitted a formal techno-commercial proposal on 114 Rafale multi-role fighter jets, with 90 being produced here under Make in India initiative. The value of the deal is estimated at roughly ₹3.25 lakh crore.
Though Russia remained India’s top arms supplier at 40 per cent, as per SIPRI arms trade report of 2026, New Delhi of late has been diversifying it’s sourcing of weapons to western nations to ensure robust supply chain during growing global insecurities. India is now procuring 29 per cent of its defence products from France and 15 per cent from Israel, SIPRI data showed.
India has to take a call on addressing Indian Air Force’s capacity deficiency, as its operational fleet has depleted to nearly 31 fighter squadrons, which is significantly short of the sanctioned 42 squadrons.
Published on September 10, 2026