While India wants deeper ties with the US, Washington's F-35 stealth fighter is more expensive and difficult to operate than Russia's Su-57.
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| US F-35 fighter jet and Russian Su-57. (Source: defence.in) |
The top fighter in the US arsenal, the F-35, is competing with Russia's fifth-generation stealth jet, the Su-57, to meet India's need for a large number of new jets. On balance, the two aircraft are quite different.
Features and distinct advantages
The F-35 is optimized for stealth, although it lacks the stealth protection of its “big brother,” the F-22. The US Congress has decided not to export the F-22. Compared to the F-35, the F-22 is a heavier aircraft with two engines, longer range, and supersonic cruise (the ability to fly at supersonic speeds without burning the aircraft’s fuel).
Russia's Su-57 is more like the F-22 in its supersonic cruise, technically has a longer range and can dive faster than the F-35.
While India is moving towards indigenous fighter production, it will take several years to meet its needs. Even then, India will have to import key components or partner with foreign companies to produce them.
It can be affirmed that the electronics and sensors of the F-35 are more advanced than the Su-57. The US defense corporation Lockheed Martin built the F-35, including an integrated logistics system that connects to the corporation's operations department to get spare parts and software updates.
As a result, F-35 customers are dependent on Lockheed Martin. The only country that has been granted a request to not rely on Lockheed Martin is Israel. This request was deemed reasonable by the US so that Israel could fix problems and improve the capabilities and operations of the F-35. It is also the only country that uses the F-35 in combat. However, Israel needs the entire F-35 supply chain for spare parts, and it almost lost access to some of those parts during the Gaza conflict.
Meanwhile, Russia has been a reliable supplier of weapons to India without any significant disruption. India often demands significant co-production rights when it comes to selling defense hardware abroad, and Moscow has not objected to that.
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| Su-57 and F-35 'face off' at Aero India 2025 aerospace exhibition opening on February 10. (Source: defencesecurityasia) |
Operational capabilities lean towards the Su-57
At the Aero India 2025 aerospace exhibition that opened on February 10 in India, the F-35 and Su-57 were displayed together for the first time.
Within the framework of the exhibition, the Russian side organized a spectacular demonstration of the Su-57 while the F-35 was only displayed statically.
If the F-35 performs in a demonstration, it may not be as spectacular as the Su-57 because the American "iron bird" is optimized for stealth. The surfaces on the aircraft's skin have coatings and design features to deflect radar, and the aircraft requires computer control.
As a combat platform, the F-35 is designed for long-range combat operations, meaning it can fire missiles 50 miles or more away. Likewise, for ground combat support operations, long-range weapons such as smart bombs and cruise missiles will also be launched dozens of miles from their targets.
The Su-57, meanwhile, is designed as a close-in fighter that can provide close-air support, much like the A-10 or Russia’s older Su-25. In an air fight, the F-35 would struggle to compete with a more agile opponent like the Su-57 or Su-35.
In fact, the US tends to promote stealth technology, but it also creates some problems. For example, maintaining the stealth aircraft's top-secret surface coating during repair is a major task, requiring specialized equipment and personnel with security clearances in specially classified areas. In combat conditions, the stealth coating is likely to degrade, and combat crews may have to work hard to clean and maintain it before launching an operation. A degraded stealth aircraft is an easy target even for older fighters.
Russia, by contrast, has focused primarily on two elements: mobile air defenses and advanced methods for detecting stealth threats.
The challenges for India are the cost of the F-35 (much higher than the Su-57), the high maintenance and training requirements, and the many problems the F-35 faces during its operations, especially the aircraft's readiness.
The F-35’s current readiness is around 51% for the US Air Force, and it is certain that the figure will be lower in India, as New Delhi’s aerospace industrial base is not as advanced. If India buys around 100 F-35s, it cannot hope to put more than half of them into service, and probably even fewer.
The availability of Su-57 is likely to be much better than F-35 in India as the maintenance of Su-57 will be less burdensome and less expensive, especially if the aircraft is jointly produced in the South Asian country.
India is now looking to deepen ties and gain more access to US technology. New Delhi also has thousands of engineers and technicians who want to train and work in the US, as well as attracting investments from high-tech companies in India. But the question is whether India is willing to invest billions of rupees in the F-35, knowing that it has a better option than buying Russian jets.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dat-len-ban-can-may-bay-chien-dau-f-35-cua-my-va-su-57-cua-nga-an-do-se-rut-vi-cho-ben-nao-305904.html
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