Trump's F-35 sale proposal criticized by India's opposition party as expensive

Opposition parties in India have criticized US President Donald Trump's offer to sell F-35 fighter jets to the country, citing high costs, Reuters reported on February 17.

The criticism comes as Russia has discussed manufacturing its most advanced jet in India, a target of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr. Trump decided to step up arms sales to India, including F-35 fighters.

The offer from the US and Russia comes at a time when the Indian Air Force's squadron strength has been reduced to 31 from 42.

After meeting with Mr. Modi last week, Mr. Trump said that the United States would increase military deals with India from this year and would gradually provide Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet.

An F-35 flies near an Indian Air Force Su-30MKI (bottom) during the Aero India 2025 air show in Bengaluru, India, on February 11.

The Indian National Congress has cited billionaire Elon Musk's previous criticism of the fighter jet to target Prime Minister Modi's government .

“The F-35 that Elon Musk described as rubbish, why is Narendra Modi insisting on buying it?”, according to a post on the Congress Party’s official X account, also saying that the aircraft is expensive and has high operating costs.

The US government estimates an F-35 costs about $80 million.

The Indian government has not said whether it intends to buy the aircraft. India's foreign minister told reporters last week that the US offer was at the "proposal stage," adding that the procurement process had not yet begun.

The Indian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russian Su-57 "encounters" American F-35 for the first time

Last week, Russia offered to manufacture its fifth-generation fighter jet Sukhoi Su-57 in India using Indian components, saying production could begin as early as this year if India agrees.

“Russia has never been shy about technology transfer,” said Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser on procurement at India’s Ministry of Defence.

"The issue is not that Russia is offering technology transfer, we will continue to trade with Russia like buying oil and maybe buying a few other things, but such a large (defense) deal would probably create its own difficulties for the United States," Mr. Cowshish said.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-nghi-ban-f-35-cua-ong-trump-bi-dang-doi-lap-tai-an-do-che-dat-185250218184341311.htm