Russia to Produce over 1000 Stealth Fighters, Eyes Deal with India
The head of plane maker Shukhoi has said that Russia will build over 1000 stealth fighter jets in four decades, of which at least 200 for its conventional weapons buyer India, reported Reuters.
Sukhoi test-flew its fifth generation fighter, which got long-delayed, at the end of January, and Moscow said that it would be able to compete with its US F-22 Raptor rival built more than a decade ago, report said.
Last week, Sukhoi had expressed hope that the fighter, codenamed T-50, would be ready for use in 2015.
“If you talk about warplanes of this type, there is definitely a market for it if we produce more than 1,000 jets,” Sukhoi director Mikhail Pogosyan was quoted as saying while talking to reporters on the sidelines of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to India.
“We have all grounds to believe that there will not be tough competition on the world market,” he was quoted as saying.
According to him, Russia would manufacture over 1000 planes within 35 to 40 years, said report.
Analysts say that Russia’s plans for a joint venture with India to produce the stealth fighters is likely be observed with unease by India’s uneasy neighbour Pakistan and regional rival China.
