India, Russia sign 5G combat jet pact

• India and Russia have set the ball rolling for one of their biggest Defence contracts when they signed an agreement on Tuesday to jointly design a new 5G (fifth generation) combat jet.
  
• The design project is expected to be settled in 18 months at an estimated cost of $295 million, to be shared equally by the two sides, after which India will induct 300 of these aircraft and Russia will treat it as an export variant of its 5G fighter T-50 already under development
• Inducting 300 of these advanced fighters, comparable to F-22 Raptor of the US - the only operational 5G combat jet in the world - means an investment of around $35 billion by India over the next two decades.
• India and Russia had laid the foundation of the agreement earlier this year that led to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Russia's arms company Rosoboronexport signing the contract during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit.
• The design of the aircraft, being called the Perspective Multi-Role Fighter, will be based on the Indian Air Force specifications. It will have both the single and double seater variants.
  
• Russia already has come out with a prototype of its own 5G fighter known as T-50.  The Indo-Russian joint project is expected to roll out its first aircraft by 2020. Another 10 years will be taken to deliver the rest.
  
• 5G combat jets would the become mainstay of the Indian Air Force. The 5G project will see major investments from India and the IAF's specification, like adding more thrust to the engines at a later stage, would be incorporated in the design. It would have other features like stealth, super-cruise, ultra-manouvreability and highly integrated avionics suite apart from enhanced situational awareness.The weapon carriage would be concealed as part of its stealth feature. It will become the centrepoint of Indo-Russian defence ties. Other key projects, like joint development of a multi-role transport aircraft, have also moved a step ahead.