- IAF Chief Singh teased US over F-35 access.
- US cited security protocols for F-35 restrictions.
- India evaluating Russia's Su-57 fighter offer.
Indian Air Force Chief Marshal AP Singh on Saturday took a humorous dig at the US over its F-35, fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft, saying that the US personnel did not even allow Indian personnel near the jet. Singh revealed this while addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the concluding ceremony of the multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti-2026 in Jodhpur.
“I was telling the PACAF commander that your people don’t let us come anywhere close to the F-35, and you talk about selling it to us. There is no offer from the US for us to buy the F-35,” Singh said moments before the conclusion of the two-week exercise on October 12.
Seated beside Singh was General Kevin B Schneider, commander of US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), along with senior air force leaders from around the world. Singh, who retires on October 31, was answering a question on whether Washington had formally offered the aircraft to India. Last year, US President Donald Trump announced that the US was paving the way for India to acquire F-35 fighters.
To this, IAF chief Singh slammed US general Scheneider over how Indian pilots were kept farther from the F-35 during the multi-lateral combat exercise — not once, not twice, but thrice in response to questions during the 45-minute briefing, putting Washington’s tight controls on its most advanced weapons systems in the spotlight.
IAF chief-designate Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit was among the officers from 40 global air forces present. Schneider cited Washington’s security protocols governing access to advanced weapons systems, saying such decisions were not his to make. “There are programme-level security classification guides that determine.what we’re able to share, when we share it, as well as how we protect it,” he said, responding to HT’s questions on the apparent contradiction between conducting combat drills with a defence partner and restricting access to US military technology. Policies governing such access could evolve, Schneider said, but many decisions were made centrally to ensure the protection of sensitive systems.
Will India Acquire Russian Aircraft
The IAF chief also addressed the possibility of India acquiring Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 fighter aircraft. He said that it has come to their notice that Russia has made an offer but clarified that “no decision has been made” regarding whether the aircraft needs to be evaluated or not.
“Once the decision is conveyed to us (by the government), we will evaluate how well it (Su-57) meets our requirements,” he said.
The remarks come as India continues to assess its future combat aircraft requirements and pursue the development of its own fifth-generation fighter aircraft under its long-term plans to strengthen self-reliance in defence manufacturing.