Russia Dangles Su-57E with Full Source Code Access to India, Outflanking U.S. F-35 Offer in Strategic Bid
The offer, described by regional analysts as “strategically disruptive,” grants India unprecedented latitude to integrate its own indigenous weapons and subsystems into one of the world’s most advanced combat aircraft—a level of openness not even extended by Western suppliers such as the United States or France.
(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — In a dramatic escalation of the global fifth-generation fighter jet race, Russia is now aggressively courting India with an offer that could reshape the balance of airpower in Asia: the export of the Su-57E stealth fighter with full source code access.
The offer, described by regional analysts as “strategically disruptive,” grants India unprecedented latitude to integrate its own indigenous weapons and subsystems into one of the world’s most advanced combat aircraft—a level of openness not even extended by Western suppliers such as the United States or France.
Russia’s proposal comes as Washington reportedly prepares a formal offer to sell the F-35A to India, a move aimed at countering China’s growing deployment of fifth-generation fighters and reinforcing New Delhi’s frontline airpower.
Indian defence outlets report that the Su-57E variant being proposed will incorporate key technologies aligned with India’s Super-30 upgrade programme for its Su-30MKI fleet, including an AESA radar based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) and a mission computer designed by Indian defence electronics firms.
The Super-30 programme, led jointly by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), aims to transform 150–200 Su-30MKIs into “4.5++ generation” fighters with enhanced avionics, radar, and electronic warfare capabilities.
The potential cross-integration of Super-30 systems with the Su-57E platform represents a significant doctrinal shift for India, enabling the seamless use of its own missiles, such as the Astra BVR, and indigenously developed PGMs aboard Russia’s most advanced fighter aircraft.
This approach would allow India to maintain its strategic initiative under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” self-reliance campaign by reducing reliance on foreign weapons suppliers while maintaining technological supremacy.
Among the Indian-made munitions expected to be compatible with the Su-57E are the Astra Mk1 and Mk2 BVR missiles, the Rudram series of anti-radiation missiles, and advanced air-to-ground precision strike systems developed by DRDO.
Russia’s willingness to provide access to the Su-57E’s software architecture directly addresses India’s longstanding frustrations with France over the Rafale deal, where source code access was repeatedly denied despite persistent diplomatic pressure.
“The refusal of France to share critical system source codes remains a sore point for Indian defence planners, especially as they seek to operationalise indigenous weapons systems across platforms,” a senior defence official noted.
Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale, has maintained its policy of withholding core operational code for key subsystems such as the Thales RBE2 AESA radar and the Modular Mission Computer (MMC), citing intellectual property and export control constraints.
This denial has severely limited India’s ability to fully customise the Rafale fleet to its evolving operational needs and has complicated integration of Indian-made munitions like the Astra and the SAAW, despite bilateral cooperation.
India’s €7.8 billion (RM37.5 billion) acquisition of 36 Rafales in 2016, completed by December 2022, saw the fighters deployed to Ambala and Hasimara airbases to face threats from Pakistan and China, respectively.
In a bid to bolster naval aviation, India signed an additional deal with France in April 2025 for 26 Rafale M variants for its aircraft carriers, with deliveries scheduled between 2028 and 2030.
However, India’s inability to access the Rafale’s source code has reignited debates about strategic autonomy and defence sovereignty, particularly in the context of integrating future Indian-developed technologies into imported airframes.
The Su-57E offer, therefore, is being perceived in New Delhi as more than a fighter jet—it is a geopolitical instrument of technological empowerment and operational independence in an increasingly bipolar world.
The Su-57E, first unveiled to global audiences at Aero India 2021, represents the export configuration of Russia’s most advanced stealth multirole fighter, combining low observability, high manoeuvrability, and next-generation network-centric warfare capabilities.
Designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau under UAC, the Su-57E is powered by twin AL-41F1 turbofans with 3D thrust vectoring, enabling extreme post-stall manoeuvres that provide a significant advantage in close-in dogfights and missile evasion.
Stealth features include radar-absorbing materials, internal weapons bays, canted airframe geometry, and serpentine intakes—all engineered to minimise radar cross-section and infrared signature.
Its radar suite, the N036 Byelka AESA system, includes forward and side-facing antenna arrays offering 360-degree situational awareness, high-bandwidth data fusion, and robust ECCM capabilities in contested electronic environments.
The aircraft’s payload options include the R-77M and R-74M2 air-to-air missiles, the Kh-38 and Kh-59MK2 precision air-to-ground munitions, and reportedly, compatibility with the hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile for strategic deep-strike missions.
Avionics aboard the Su-57E feature a high-fidelity IRST system, full glass cockpit with wide-area displays, and an integrated EW suite designed to operate in multi-domain, network-centric warfare scenarios.
Russia has offered the Su-57E to select allies with strong strategic and military ties, including Algeria, Vietnam, and Myanmar, although no confirmed export deals have been announced to date.
Speculation persists that China and India are also exploring certain technological aspects of the Su-57, though India is viewed as a more probable launch customer due to its pressing need for a fifth-generation counterweight to the J-20 and J-35 in China’s growing inventory.
India’s existing Su-30MKI fleet—numbering over 270 aircraft—remains the backbone of its air combat capability, offering heavy multirole firepower and long-range endurance across both the western and eastern theatres.
The Su-30MKI, co-produced by HAL and Sukhoi, is equipped with AL-31FP engines with thrust vectoring, PESA radar (soon to be replaced with AESA), Israeli EW systems, and is compatible with a wide range of Indian and Russian munitions.
Key upgrades under the Super Sukhoi initiative include digital cockpits, enhanced data processing, and integration of standoff weapons like the BrahMos-A supersonic cruise missile and long-range air-to-air missiles such as R-77-1 and Astra Mk2.
These enhancements are critical in maintaining India’s qualitative edge in a “two-front war” scenario against Pakistan and China, both of whom are steadily advancing their own fifth-generation and beyond-visual-range warfare capabilities.
Su-30MKIs are already deployed along sensitive flashpoints, including Leh in Ladakh and Hasimara near the Siliguri Corridor, providing rapid response capability through air-to-air refuelling and forward basing.
Russia’s Su-57E, if acquired by India, could serve as a technological leapfrog that not only strengthens its fighter fleet but symbolises a strategic break from dependency on Western restrictions.
As geopolitical alignments shift in a world divided between NATO-centric systems and an emerging Eurasian axis, India’s fighter jet decision could define its role in the next decade of strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.
— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA
