Russia and India have closed a deal to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter plane, a spokesman for the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said today (18 Oct,2007).

“We have signed an agreement on cooperation in the development and production of an advanced multi-purpose fighter aircraft,” the spokesman said. “This document will allow our countries to implement a project that envisions equal-share financing and engineering efforts in the creation of a fifth-generation fighter.”

A two-day session of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission for military-technical cooperation, led by both countries’ defense ministers, began in Moscow on Wednesday.

The Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) agreement was signed by the Secretary Defence Production Mr KP Singh and Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Foreign Military Cooperation Mr. Vyacheslav Dzirkaln in the presence of the Defence Minister Mr. AK Antony and his Russian counterpart Mr. Anatoly Serdyukov.