Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said US officials did not let Indians near F-35 jets during Tarang Shakti-2026 in Jodhpur on Saturday. "Your people don't even let us go near the aircraft, and you are talking about selling it to us," he said. India is now considering Russian Su-57 jets.

New Delhi:

Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh has taken a swipe at the United States' F-35 programme, telling a top American commander that US personnel don't even let Indian officials near the stealth jet.

The IAF chief's remarks came while sharing the stage with General Kevin Schneider, Commander of US Pacific Air Forces, at a press conference on the sidelines of the concluding ceremony of the multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti-2026 in Jodhpur on Saturday.

"Your people don't even let us go near the aircraft, and you are talking about selling it to us," Air Chief Marshal Singh told reporters when asked if the US had made any official offer to sell F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets to India.

Six US F-35 Lightning II fighter jets were in India for their first-ever participation in Exercise Tarang Shakti.

A US Air Force F-35 Fighter jet takes off during the Tarang Shakti exercise, in Jodhpur on October 3

Photo Credit: US Air Force

He was also asked about how much access India had been given, to which, he said, "The US did not show us the cockpit, but allowed us to fly in close formation."

He also said that this was how countries protect sensitive military technologies.

"Not My Decision": US Commander

General Schneider said decisions on sharing F-35 information were not his to make.

"There are programme-level security classification guides that determine what we are able to share, when we share it, as well as how we protect it," he said.

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Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, US Pacific Air Forces Commander General Kevin Schneider, Air and Space Inspector General, FASF, General Stephane Groen and others during a press conference on the Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026, in Jodhpur on Saturday

Photo Credit: PTI

Air Chief Marshal Singh also confirmed that Russia has offered its Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets.

"Yes, the Russians have offered. But there has been no decision yet," he told reporters.

India is looking at an interim fifth-generation option while its indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) remains years away from induction.

The search comes as China expands its stealth fleet, including the J-20 and J-35. Beijing is also expected to supply 40 J-35s to Pakistan, though deliveries haven't begun.

Such a deal could give India a chance to study the aircraft's operations, since much of its radar, sensor and intelligence infrastructure is oriented towards the western front.

Any purchase, however, would involve more than the jet itself, including technology access, integration, weapons, maintenance and long-term strategic dependence.

What Makes Fifth-Generation Fighter Special

Fifth-generation fighter jets are special because they are hard to spot and are smart enough to see everything around them.

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Their shape, special coatings and weapons tucked inside the body make it very hard for enemy radar to pick up. That's stealth.

US Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jets parked on the tarmac at a naval base in Puerto Rico

Photo Credit: REUTERS

The second part is the brain. Radar, electronic warfare systems and heat-seeking sensors all feed into one live picture of the battlespace. Instead of juggling multiple screens and making sense of scattered signals, the pilot gets a clear view of who's out there, and can focus on the mission.

For India, the real question is how to get this capability now, while the homegrown AMCA is still years away, without giving up its own long-term goal of building such jets itself.