Russia continues its attempts to sell the Su-57 and has brought it to the Aero India 2025 arms exhibition and airshow, scheduled to take place in Bangalore from February 10 to 14. This marks only the second foreign demonstration for this aircraft, as it was first showcased outside of Russia in China during Airshow China 2024 in Zhuhai, which occurred in November.
It was there that spectators were able to approach the aircraft for the first time, capturing detailed close-up footage that revealed poor quality in the joining of fuselage components and panels, along with a vast number of various bolts for fastening, etc. This indicates the actual technological level of aircraft manufacturing in Russia, which the Chinese openly mocked and ridiculed. Furthermore, against the backdrop of new generation Chinese aircraft, this mockery becomes downright malicious.
Currently, the Russian Su-57 has just arrived in India, and it is unlikely that similar videos from Indian sources will emerge before February 10, when the exhibition begins. Of course, this is assuming that Russia does not manage to create a no-access zone around the aircraft again.
However, with its arrival at Aero India 2025, the Russians have certainly left visitors without demonstrations of F-35 flights alongside F-16s. The fact is that these American aircraft were supposed to perform demonstration flights at this exhibition, but after the Indians allowed the Russians in, Washington canceled its program. This is evidenced by the official schedule of the Demo Team F-35 and F-16 posted on the website of the U.S. Air Force Command.
It is worth noting that India is one of the few countries that continues to purchase Russian weapons without fear of facing U.S. sanctions, despite the existing CAATSA law, which is intended to impose sanctions for military cooperation with Russia. For instance, just days ago, India purchased the anti-ship variant of the Kalibr missile 3M54.
However, the chances of Russia successfully selling the Su-57 to India are minimal, not because of this. The fact is that back in 2007, India began joint efforts with Russia to localize this aircraft within its own borders. However, amid a scandal claiming that the Su-57 is not even a fifth-generation aircraft, India officially exited the project in 2018. Moreover, in March 2024, India approved a project for its own fifth-generation fighter.