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Stealth vs. Stealth: China and Russia Set to Compete for Stealth Fighter Sales




 India is reportedly mulling Russia’s newly unveiled Checkmate fighter, drawing concern from Chinese experts.

It’s no secret that Russian defense giant Rostec’s new, lightweight fifth-generation Checkmate fighter is primarily an export product, aggressively priced to compete with western offerings like the Dassault Rafale and JAS-39 Gripen.

It is just as well established that Russia’s defense industry is targeting India as one of the plane’s first, and largest, potential customers. Rostec’s early July Checkmate teaser trailer prominently featured India, with Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov reiterating on the day of the plane’s reveal that “firstly, the aircraft will be oriented toward African countries, India, and Vietnam.”

A recent South China Morning Post article voiced the concerns of some Chinese defense observers over India’s potential Checkmate procurement. “The sales of stealth fighters are very political and still largely based on the political divide,” said Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and commentator, adding that India is among the most likely buyers of Rostec’s new fighter.

The context to which Zhongping is referring is the ongoing border standoff between Chinese and Indian forces in the Himalayas. Chinese experts have argued that India’s fourth-generation fighter fleet, headlined by a recent Rafale procurement, cannot match the capabilities of Beijing’s J-20 fifth-generation fighter. Against the looming backdrop of possible future clashes with China, the Indian Air Force has set forth a mission requirement for a next-generation fighter jet capable of going toe to toe with the rapidly modernizing Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

There were reports earlier this year suggesting that India indicated its interest in purchasing Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter, but those prospective talks do not appear to have taken off. In the 2010s, India became a partner in the FGFA program to jointly develop an export variant of Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 fighter.

                               Source : https://www.defenceaviationpost.com/

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