FGFA Program - 2015
Russia and India have completed the preliminary design for the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Andrey Marshankin, the regional director of international cooperation at the united Russian-Indian aircraft manufacturing company said 10 January 2015. Marshankin noted that while the Russian version of the fifth generation fighter jet is operated by a single pilot, the Indian Air Force prefers aircraft that are operated by two pilots. “In difficult conditions of modern warfare it is extremely difficult to simultaneously maneuver [the aircraft] and attack the enemy. Currently, the Indian side suggests that the Indian version of the fifth generation fighter will be made for two pilots,” he said. Deliveries in Russia are set to begin in 2016, but in India bureaucrats had also pushed back certification to 2019, after which production could be authorized. Aa total of nine prototypes would roll out of the AMCA hangar, starting 2020.
India was ready to invest $25 billion in the development and purchase of 127 fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft (FGFA). It would also make concessions to speed up the delivery of fighters and have the first ones available in 36 months instead of the previously envisaged 94 months, sources told The Times of India 09 March 2015. “We have agreed to a lesser work-share for a realistic contract, with the initial lot of the FGFA being imported and the rest being made here under technology transfer,” a source at HAL told the Times of India. And it appeared that future Russian-made fifth-generation fighter aircraft for India will cost little more than European 4G jets, as the final negotiations with Dassault for purchase of 126 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircrafts indicated the price would exceed $20 billion.
Russia and India will continue their co-development of a fifth-generation fighter plane after signing an experimental design contract, India’s defense minister said on 31 July 2015. "The preliminary stage of the project was completed in June 2013 and the next phase of development will commence after we have signed off on the experimental design contract,” Manohar Parrikar said in a written answer to a pertinent question from two members of the lower house of parliament.
Ajay Banerjee reported in the Tribune News Service on 10 August 2015 that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had halved its demand for Russian-built fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) in order to cut costs and prune military imports. The IAF scaled down its needs to just three squadrons (around 18 planes in each), besides a few more for training of the pilots, will be enough for now. This worked out to be 65 planes, almost half from the earlier projection of 127 FGFAs to be jointly designed and produced by India and Russia. Simultaneously, the IAF is also working on a $11 billion R&D contract for long-term development of the jet, with deliveries envisaged to commence 94 months – eight years. New Delhi suggested to Moscow that the T-50 fighter jet can be supplied to the IAF, while the research to improve upon the aircraft can carry on simultaneously.
In late 2015, Russian Deputy Minister Yuri Borisov announced that the Russian Air Force would only purchase a squadron (18-24 aircraft) of PAK FA fighter jets, and procure additional Sukhoi Su-35 aircraft instead. The announcement apparently finally made India lose faith in the program.
Ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit to Moscow in December, India asked Russia to allow IAF test pilots to fly its fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to evaluate its capabilities. "Flight-testing will help decide the way forward on the collaboration between the two countries on the FGFA. All options, ranging from an off-the-shelf purchase of 60-65 jets to joint production, are on the table," said a top defence ministry official on 12 September 2015.
In December 2015 Russia made a new offer on the delivery of Sukhoi T-50 (PAK FA) fighter jets to India. Under the new offer, India would have to pay $3.7 billion, instead of $6 billion, for the technological know-how and three prototypes of PAK FA fighters. But the Indian Air Force (IAF) remains opposed to the idea. A senior IAF official said, “We are not in favour of the FGFA. The PAK FA fighter is too expensive at even this rate, and we are not sure of its capabilities.”
During the annual India-Russia summit in late December 2015 in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to resolve the ongoing disagreement between the two countries over the future of the joint fifth generation fighter program.
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