India, Russia To Develop 5th Generation Military Fighter

October 18, 2007 6:17 p.m. EST

Moscow, Russia (AHN) - Russia and India signed a deal on Thursday to develop a 5th generation multi-purpose military aircraft. The Indo-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation is one of the largest military programs between the two nations, and looks to develop a fighter jet capable of holding its own against the U.S.-made F-22 Raptor and the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

The deal comes during a Moscow visit by Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony, who said issues of cost and intellectual property rights will be ironed out later.

An unnamed Russia Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation official told Itar-Tass, "This document will enable our countries to implement a project which envisions equitable funding and engineering contribution to the joint development of 5th generation planes."

Previous joint undertakings of the two nations include licensed manufacturing of T-90S tanks and Su-30MKI fighters in India and improvement of the Admiral Gorshkov-class aircraft carrier. Russia, at present, is developing a model of the PAK-FA aircraft. Its detection features include an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, thrust vectoring and supercruise mode that allows flight at supersonic speed without the use of afterburners.