Putin Wastes Two Days in India
Putin has just wrapped up his two-day state visit to India and flown back to Moscow. Indian media went into full devotional mode, flooding the airwaves with hymns about the “time-tested”, “unbreakable” Russo-Indian friendship, complete with slow-motion footage of bear hugs and garlands.
What actually happened? Absolutely nothing of substance.
The two big-ticket items that had been hyped for months — nuclear power cooperation and the Su-57 fighter jet deal — ended exactly where they started: in the realm of “intentions”, “dialogue” and “future roadmaps”. Translation: zero contracts, zero timelines, zero commitments.
Especially hilarious was the Su-57 file. India’s position, delivered with a straight face, is that past cooperation with Russia was so unpleasant that this time New Delhi must lead the entire programme. Demands on the table:
- 100% technology transfer of every critical system
- 100% local production in India
- Right to independently replace every single component with Indian-made alternatives
- Russia keeps none of the IP and just gets a royalty whenever India sells the jet to third countries
In other words, Russia is expected to hand over the complete crown jewels of its fifth-generation fighter programme — engines, radars, stealth coatings, EW suites, the works — to a country that still cannot manufacture a reliable 5.56 mm assault rifle after thirty years of trying.
If I were Russian, I would politely suggest the Indian delegation visit the nearest neurology ward.
No nation on Earth has ever transferred an entire fifth-generation fighter technology stack to another country, not even the United States to its closest allies. Yet India, whose most advanced “indigenous” fighter still uses an American engine, Russian radar, Israeli avionics, French missiles and a British ejection seat, genuinely believes Russia will just gift-wrap the Su-57 and say “enjoy”.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force is running out of both aircraft and time. Pakistan has already signed for the J-35, and India’s own AMCA “stealth fighter” remains a very impressive PowerPoint that keeps getting better with every passing year while staying firmly on the ground.
Let us recall India’s proud history of indigenous aerospace miracles:
- The Tejas LCA: fifty years in development, still trickles off the production line at four airframes a year, crashes regularly, and has never once engaged a Pakistani aircraft in combat despite multiple opportunities.
- The Dhruv helicopter: another “world-class” product that drops out of the sky with monotonous regularity.
- The Arjun tank, the Kaveri engine, the INSAS rifle… the list of national embarrassments is longer than the waiting list for a Tejas delivery.
By the time the AMCA actually flies (optimistic estimate: 2045–2050), China will be flight-testing sixth-generation fighters and Pakistan will have moved on to whatever comes after the J-35.
The only other option is to beg Washington for the F-35. Good luck with that. Trump is back in the White House, and he has already slapped 50% tariffs on India, publicly mocked Modi for losing dogfights to Pakistan, and made it clear that India is no longer America’s favourite “counterweight” to China — that honour now goes to… China itself. Trump calls Xi “my friend” and floats G2 ideas while treating Modi like a particularly slow Uber driver who still owes him a tip.
