F-35 or Su-57? The IAF Debate After Tarang Shakti 2026 | CLAT Explainer

VIDEO EXPLAINER | 12 OCTOBER 2026

At a press conference in Jodhpur on 10 October 2026, on the sidelines of the multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti 2026, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, was asked about a reported American offer of F-35 fighters. His light-hearted reply, as reported by The Tribune, was: “Your people don’t even let us go near the aircraft, and you are talking about selling it to us.” He said the United States had made no official offer, and that on Russia’s proposal of the Su-57, no decision had been made. A clip of the remark spread fast online and turned into a debate: F-35 or Su-57? This explainer sets out the facts behind that debate as a question of capability and procurement, without taking a side.

1. The setting: Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026

Tarang Shakti is the Indian Air Force’s multinational air exercise. Its second edition ran from 26 September to 12 October 2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur, under the theme “Power in Partnership”, building on the inaugural edition of 2024. According to the Ministry of Defence (PIB, 27 September 2026), seven friendly foreign countries took part with aircraft: Australia, the United States, the UAE, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Their aircraft included the F-35 Lightning II, Rafale, F-16, A400M, MRTT, C-130, C-130J and KC-30A. DD News reported representatives from 32 observer nations. The IAF chief said this was the first time a component of F-35s had come to India to exercise with the IAF; the US Air Force F-35As were from the 13th Fighter Squadron based at Misawa, Japan.

2. What the IAF chief said, and did not say

The remarks are best read precisely. On the F-35, the chief said there was no formal US offer. On the Su-57, he said Russia had made an offer but no decision had been made, including on whether the aircraft needed to be evaluated. A week earlier, on 3 October, he had said: “Russia has offered us Su-57 jets, but no decision has been made on it.” He also said the exercise “had no messaging for anyone in the Indo-Pacific”. In short, neither jet is on order, and neither has been rejected.

3. What “fifth generation” means

Both aircraft are described as fifth-generation fighters: the F-35 is American, the Su-57 Russian. The F-35’s maker lists the defining features of its fifth-generation design as stealth (a shape and finish meant to avoid radar detection), sensor fusion (gathering, processing and sharing information from all sensors in real time, so the pilot sees one picture) and carrying weapons internally rather than on external pods, which preserves the stealth advantage. India is also developing its own Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA); the IAF chief has said the force could consider another aircraft if the AMCA programme is delayed.

4. The real gap: squadrons

Behind the debate is a numbers problem. At his annual briefing before Air Force Day, the IAF chief said the force has around 29 fighter squadrons against an authorised strength of 42 (as reported by The Week and The Daily Guardian, 3 October 2026). He said the IAF needs 36 to 40 aircraft every year over the next few years just to arrest the fall, about two squadrons a year. The force is counting on the Tejas Mk-1A, the MRFA and the future Mk-2 to fill the gap.

5. MRFA: the purchase actually on the table

The Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) deal is the procurement in progress. The Centre cleared the proposal for 114 Rafale jets from France in February under a government-to-government arrangement, and on 3 October the IAF chief said price talks and other issues were still being worked out, with the aim of concluding the deal this financial year (The Federal, 3 October 2026). Seen this way, the F-35 versus Su-57 question sits beside a more immediate test: how fast the empty squadron slots can be filled.

Sources

PIB, Ministry of Defence, release 2315563 (27 Sep 2026); DD News (10 Oct 2026); The Tribune and Business Standard (11 Oct 2026) on the Jodhpur press conference; Asianet Newsable/ANI (7 Oct 2026); The Federal (3 Oct 2026); The Daily Guardian (3 Oct 2026); Lockheed Martin’s F-35 “5th Gen Capabilities” page.