Moscow,Aug 18: Russian President Vladimir Putin has cleared decks for joint development with India of a fifth generation fighter aircraft that can compete with the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) expected to be commissioned in 2010. In his scheduled December 4-6 visit to India, Putin is expected to make a formal offer to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for pooling the efforts of the two strategic partners, official sources said.
Putin has reportedly discussed the matter with "Sukhoi" Aircraft Corporation during a visit to Sukhoi Design Bureau yesterday, as also with top Air Force officials including four former Air Chiefs. At the Design Bureau meeting, dedicated to Russian Air Force's 90th anniversary, Putin was accompanied by his foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko, unusual in Kremlin practice. Chief Designer of Sukhoi, Mikhail Simonov, said "there was full technical ground" for Indo-Russian joint development of the fighter aircraft. "The decision has to be taken at the political level in India," he added. "Sukhoi" downed its closest rival "MiG" and won the right to develop the fighter, in a Russian government tender. Bureau Report