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New Delhi: Mounting uncertainty over India’s negotiations with the United States and General Electric (GE) over the F414 engine, which was selected to power several advanced indigenous combat aircraft programmes, has reinforced calls by senior Indian Air Force (IAF) veterans to acquire two squadrons – around 40 aircraft – of Russia’s fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighters as an ‘interim operational bridge’ until these platforms enter service.

Their strategic argument, however, extends well beyond the protracted and increasingly fraught F414 negotiations. They maintain that the IAF is confronting three converging operational challenges: the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) imminent induction of China’s fifth-generation Shenyang J-35AE stealth fighter, the continuing decline in the IAF’s fighter squadron strength, and mounting delays in indigenous combat aircraft programmes dependent on the GE-F414.

“With Pakistan poised to imminently take delivery of J-35AEs, the IAF’s most likely and viable course is to close the capability gap by swiftly acquiring two Su-57 squadrons,” Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor (Retd), the IAF’s former Director General of Inspection and Safety, told The Wire. Russia itself, he added, is unlikely to transfer more than two such squadrons, making this a practical stopgap capability rather than a long-term fighter fleet replacement or option.

According to multiple overseas defence industry assessments, Pakistan is expected to begin inducting the export variant of the J-35AE from late 2026 or early 2027, with its fleet eventually reaching around 40 such aircraft by the early 2030s. By then, the IAF’s fighter squadron strength is projected to decline well below its current 29 squadrons – against an authorised 42 – as six legacy Jaguar squadrons are expected to begin retiring soon, outpacing the induction of replacements, including additional Dassault Rafales.

Compounding these challenges, the GE-F414 impasse has further amplified strategic concerns because the engine has emerged as the sole propulsion backbone of India’s future combat aircraft, including its fifth-generation fighter programme.

The IAF, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and its Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) have collectively selected this 98-kilonewton (kN) engine to power the advanced Tejas Mk2........

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