Russian ambassador says US refuses to demonstrate fighter jets because of Russia's Su-57

TheUS refused to demonstrate F-35 and F-16 fighter jets at the Aero India 2025 aerospace exhibition after learning about the planned flight program of the Russian Su-57. Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said.

"As practice shows, our rivals are not ready for a fair fight with us. After learning about the demonstration of our Su-57 at Aero India, American companies have abandoned the flight programs of F-35A and F-16," he told TASS.

According to him, New Delhi seeks to diversify ties in the field of military-technical cooperation with other countries. For the Russian Federation, the main thing is that this process should take place on the basis of ensuring healthy competition, without prejudice to ties with Moscow.

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Earlier, on February 9, Indian Deputy Defense Minister Sanjeev Kumar said that the country was studying the Russian Su-57 fighter jet. He specified that the military leadership is deciding on its purchase. In addition, Kumar added that India is expecting a demonstration of the Su-57 at the Aero India 2025 air show. The Russian fifth-generation fighter jet was first unveiled outside Russia at Airshow China in Zhuhai, China, which was held from November 12 to 17, 2024.

Last December, Brandon Weichert, a columnist for the US magazine The National Interest (TNI), said that Russia's Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet had proven its effectiveness in a special military operation.

Prior to that, on November 7, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov noted the effectiveness of the Russian fighter jet against Western surface-to-air missile systems, including Patriot, NASAMS and IRIS. He also said that the fifth-generation Su-57E fighter is capable of using a wide range of guided precision-guided weapons, including X-69 cruise missiles. According to him, the machine has a high export potential and attracts great interest from specialists and foreign customers.