Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala has raised concerns over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged 'unilateral decision' to procure F-35 stealth fighters from the United States, questioning whether the acquisition aligns with India's defence interests.
Surjewala’s remarks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that his administration was “paving the way” to provide India with the advanced combat aircraft.
The Congress leader argued that the decision had been made without proper consultation with the Indian Air Force (IAF) or defence experts.
Taking to social media platform X, Surjewala said, “Prime Minister Modi is buying F-35 fighter aircraft from America, but did the Modi government consider these aspects in the national interest before taking a unilateral decision to buy F-35 aircraft at the behest of President Trump?”
He further inquired, “Does the Indian Air Force want to buy F-35 fighter aircraft in accordance with the country's defence interests? Was the Air Force's opinion taken? Why did the committee of Indian Air Force pilots and defence experts not investigate and recommend the purchase of F-35 fighter aircraft, nor did the 'Defence Acquisition Council' that decides on defence purchase deals make any such recommendation? So how can the Prime Minister take a unilateral decision?”
Cost effectiveness and operational shortcomings
Surjewala also pointed out the significant financial burden of acquiring the aircraft, stating that the F-35 is the most expensive fighter jet in the world, with a single unit priced at approximately $110 million (Rs 968 crore).
He contended that purchasing 100 such aircraft would cost India Rs 1,00,000 lakh crore, raising concerns about its impact on the economy.
He also cited a report by the Pentagon, which he claimed had identified 65 operational flaws in the F-35. “Did the American security agency Pentagon's report itself admit that the F-35 fighter plane does not meet its operational requirements?” he asked.
Questioning whether the Modi government had taken the report into account, Surjewala said, “Did the Modi government take cognisance of the fact that the F-35 fighter jets have problems such as design issues in the oxygen system, complex nature of the aircraft, malfunctioning of the head-mounted display and non-functioning of the flight control system, so did our defence experts and the Indian Air Force examine these issues before deciding to purchase the aircraft?”
Also read: US set to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to India, confirms Prez Trump
Concerns over transfer of technology
Surjewala also accused the government of failing to negotiate a crucial ‘transfer of technology’ agreement with the United States.
“Has the Modi government taken cognisance of the fact that the US government is not ready to give 'transfer of technology' to India for the manufacture of F-35 while Russia and many other countries are ready to manufacture fifth-generation fighter aircraft in India and transfer the technology? Shouldn't this be an important criterion in the country's biggest defence purchase in 75 years?” he said.
He further alleged that the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) had reported that more than half of the US Air Force’s F-35 fleet was not operational at any given time.
“Did the Government Accountability Office (GAO) also investigate and report that 'immature and inadequate Block 4 mission system software' and 'avionics issues' during the 'F-35 development cycle' were causing delays in the delivery of these aircraft? Did the Modi government get these investigated by our defence experts and the Indian Air Force?” he added.
Official response
During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Modi on Thursday, President Trump stated, “Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We are also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters.”
Responding to questions regarding India's potential acquisition of the F-35, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri clarified that the process had not yet begun.
“On military sales to India, there is a process by which platforms are acquired. There is, in most cases, a request for proposals that is floated. There are responses to those. They are evaluated. I don't think with regard to the acquisition of an advanced aviation platform by India, that process has started yet. So, this is currently something that's at the stage of a proposal. But I don't think the formal process in this regard has started yet,” Misri said.
The government has yet to issue a formal statement addressing Surjewala’s concerns.
Also read: PM Modi is a much 'tougher' negotiator than me, says President Trump
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