India, Russia joint project

INDIA: India plans to cost nearly six billion US dollars to jointly develop a stealth fighter with Russia over the next ten years, local media reported on Sunday.

Following years of hard negotiations, India has finalized a preliminary design contract(PDC) with Russia.

In which, India will jointly develop a so-called fifth-generation stealth fighter with Russia, the Indian newspaper Business Standard reported, citing a senior official of the Indian Defence Ministry. The Indian Committee for Security may discuss the PDC this month.

If approved, the contract will be signed during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to India in December, said the official. Navak, Chairman of HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) which would be the Indian designer and builder of the stealth fighter, said: “Once the PDC is signed, we will accomplish the design of the stealth fighter in one and a half years, while its development and manufacture will take about ten years.

Mumbai, Sunday, Xinhua