India will purchase 154 Russian PAK FA fighters

Indian newspaper The Financial Express reported with reference to the country’s Ministry of Defense that a contract for delivery of T-50 fighters may be signed in November, Rossiyskaya gazeta reports.

A delegation from Delhi responsible for signing the contract will arrive in Moscow in late autumn. It is planned that the agreement will provide India with 154 new FGFA fighters (export version of PAK FA, stands for Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft). The aircraft will be assembled in India, but all the components will be manufactured in Russia. The agreement is valued at $35 billion; this contract may become the most expensive one in the history of India.

According to The Financial Express, Russian T-50 fighter is the top-priority in terms of renewal of India’s fighter fleet; however, the contract may experience problems if the Indian air forces’ budget is cut.

Detailed design of FGFA was approved in January 2015. At that time Rosoboronexport said that the parties have already agreed on all the technical details and now they have to settle only financial matters.