India, Russia to sign up for 5th generation fighter development deal

New Delhi: It is expected that India and Russia will very likely sign a pact to jointly develop an advanced fifth generation fighter aircraft during defence minister AK Antony''s visit to Moscow in the coming week. Antony is visiting Moscow to attend the Indo-Russia inter-governmental commission on military technical cooperation.

India announced it''s preference for Sukhoi''s PAK-FA, 5th generation fighter earlier this year. The confirmation came after years of consultations and discussions over the issue.
It is expected that both sides will firm up a formal declaration regarding the deal during the defence minister''s visit.

According to Indian defence officials, an inter-governmental pact will be signed during the visit, though price negotiations and intellectual property right issues will be sorted out at a later stage.

Antony is scheduled to start his visit to Moscow on October 19.

If it comes to pass, the multi-billion-dollar deal will be the largest military joint development programme between the two countries.

India and Russia both are looking for a next generation stealth fighter which would adequately match, if not exceed the capabilities of the US Air Force''s F22 Raptor, which is already in service, as well as the F35 Joint Strike Fighter, Lightning, being jointly developed by the US and the UK.

Meanwhile air force chief, Air Chief Marshal FH Major has confirmed that the IAF has finalised the technical requirements for the fifth generation aircraft.

"The air staff requirements for the fifth generation fighters have been made. It will take five years for development and it will be 8-10 years before the first fighter takes to the skies," he said.

While the Sukhoi Design Bureau has already finalised the basic design and features of the aircraft, India is hoping to contribute to the programme and gain some valuable expertise, especially for its own defence R&D establishment.

The PAK-FA is expected to have advanced stealth features, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, thrust vectoring for increased manoeuvrability and a supercruise mode to fly at supersonic speed without using afterburners.

According to Russian sources, a prototype of the PAK-FA would make its first flight in early 2009.