President Donald Trump’s offer to sell the F-35, a fifth-generation fighter jet that uses Russia’s long-range, surface-to-air missile system, to India was an interesting development. This is precisely why NATO member Turkey has escaped from the F-35 development program.
India is not keen on the F-35 either. It is considered one of the most expensive platforms in the world today. Its sales were subject to the Indian Air Force (IAF), which purchased the F-16 as the first step.
Even Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of aircraft, has argued that India is not yet ready for such weapons systems, as it takes the countryside to progress to this technical stage. India does not have US fighter planes in its fighter fleet. Going directly to a fifth-generation fighter jet is not feasible.
Trump’s offer is as New Delhi is pondering how to arrest an expanded crack in the Air Force between the IAF and the PLA-AIR FORCE (PLAAF). It will be interesting to see if Trump’s diplomatic Blitzkrieg will seal the IAF deal to win the fifth generation fighter jet.
Get the biggest bang for that money
India needs many aircraft to maintain combat parity with China’s Prah.
However, during his first tenure, the Narendra Modi government abolished the acquisition of 126 medium multi-roll fighter jets (MMRCA) after Dassault Rafale, selected as the L1, refused to play the ball. . Then, in 2015, the government decided to purchase 36 Rafales as emergency procurement through intergovernmental contracts.
The deal was considered very expensive and caused political and legal lines as it did not include technology transfers to manufacture aircraft in India.
Later, in 2018, the Indian government withdrew from the joint development programme of the “Fifth Generation Fighter” (FGFA) with Russia. Moscow went on to the project alone, and in December 2020, the SU-57 Fighter Jet joined the service with the Russian Aerospace Force (VKS).
SU-57 (NATO report name “Feron”) took part in the recently concluded Aero India 2025, where Russia offered India an attractive deal to co-production of India’s fifth generation aircraft.
Meanwhile, over the past few years, the Indian government has made all its efforts into developing LCA MK1A and LCA MK2 (LCA MK2) and 5th generation Indigenous Fighter Jets – Advanced Medium Fighter (AMCA). I have put my efforts into this. .
Despite the IAF’s hard push, the Indian government has emphasized “making India” and has not made the purchase of 114 fighter jets from foreign manufacturers for an estimated US$20 billion.
The IAF urgently needs 114 MRFAs (multi-roll fighter jets) to maintain the combat edge, but “steel birds” take at least 6-8 years to enter the fleet.
However, it is expected that the Indigenous LCA MK2 will fly ascending during this period. The LCA MK2 program is much lower than the MRFA trade, so the government may be reluctant to inherit it.
In such a scenario, it will be interesting to see if the Indian government heads towards one of the expensive fighter programmes, the F-35.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is the most expensive weapons system program of the Department of Defense (DOD) and by 2088 there will be an estimated cost of USD 2 trillion to operate 2,470 planned aircraft. there is.
When New Delhi purchases the 114 F-35, the cost is outrageous. The fly-away cost for the F-35A variant is approximately USD 82.5 million per unit. However, export prices typically include additional costs, which will boost the effective unit costs to around USD 100-110 million. This price tag does not include weapon packages.
Additionally, operational costs, subsequent upgrades, and spares further boost the lifecycle costs of the F-35 lead.
In terms of perspective, according to the Canadian Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), the lifecycle cost of owning and operating a fleet of F-35 fighter jets over the next 40 and a half years is as much for Canadian taxpayers as we do. It is expected to take it. $73.9 billion. Canada is planning to source 88 F-35A fighter jets.
A similar F-35 trade in India could cost as much as US$100 billion. Also, the US rarely transfers technology to manufacture the F-35 in India.
IAF’s Chief Airman S Singh emphasizes the importance of manufacturing domestic aircraft to provide India with the ability to implement upgrades and weapons integration as needed. The right case is a stock Jaguar aircraft.
If India chose fewer F-35s (let’s say 40 of these), bringing parity between India and China’s air forces would not be of much help. At the same time, a diverse fighter fleet can become a logistical nightmare.
The PLA-AIR FORET fleet has around 1,700 fighters, including over 190 people, five generations of J-20 and second generation fighter jet J-35, and is expected to be in service soon .
Lockheed Martin is increasing production of 156 units from the F-35 per year, with this production rate expected to remain in the near future. The company reached full-scale production in 2023. However, engine and aircraft postponements, as well as hardware and software delays, continue to be challenges for timely aircraft production.
In 2024, Lockheed Martin delivered a 110 F-35. Germany and Finland expect to receive 35 and 64 F-35s by the end of 2025, respectively. Production of 20 F-35s will then begin in Greece and 32 will begin in Romania. Additional orders are expected from countries such as Poland, Singapore and Switzerland.
Compatible with mainly Russian origin devices of IAF
One major complication with integrating the F-35 with IAF is compatibility issues.
First, fighter jets cannot use aerial refueling due to their designs differently. Currently, the Russian IL-78 is configured for air refueling at the IAF. The F-35 cannot interface with India’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), which consists of a wide range of radar types. It features customized data links that limit the functionality of the F-35 in combat environments.
The F-35 is equipped with state-of-the-art radio communications equipment that is incompatible with the Indian Russian Origin Communications Suite.
Induction to IAF means replacing almost 80% of the software and hardware in use. Most importantly, most weapons in India’s current inventory need to be purchased separately from the aircraft, which means they need to bring cost overruns.
Strings attached to American fighter planes
India may also need permission to use American fighters for nuclear delivery from the US. They can also challenge the US court if the US government acquiesces its role and the administration allows it.
India’s nuclear delivery platforms are mirage, Rafares, and Jaguar from England.
It remains to be seen whether geopolitical considerations and US pressure will force India to buy “white elephants.”
Ritu Sharma has written about defense and diplomacy for almost 17 years. She holds a Masters degree in conflict studies and peace management from the University of Erfurt, Germany. Her areas of interest include Asia-Pacific, South China Sea and aviation history. She can be contacted at ritu.sharma(at)mail.com
