MiG 1.44 MFI
SU-30 MKIs
Russia’s MiG 1.44 (if indeed it was a real project?) and/or “I-21” type aircraft were an attempt to keep up, but lack of funds suspended both efforts. The obvious solution is a foreign partner, but Europe had limited funds and its own 4+ generation projects in the Rafale and Eurofighter. India has a longstanding Russian defense relationship, and from their point of view a joint development agreement is one way to restrict Russian cooperation with China along similar lines. See Vijiander K Thakur’s “Understanding IAF interest in the MiG fifth generation fighter” for more on the proposal to cooperate with MiG.
Even so, India’s procurement history is full of dead-ends and “almost weres” – which is why reaction to past announcements has been very muted here. An cooperation memo has now been signed – but almost a year later, it is not yet a firm agreement, even as Russia prepares to flight test its PAK-FA/T-50 design in 2009. Then, too, the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project has a non-trivial set of obstacles to overcome, in order to see production versions for India.
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