Remember when India’s MiG-21s, working with Su-30s, gave our front-line F-15 fighters all they could handle in the 2004 Cope India? That was a clear indictment of Beltway analysts who claim USAF doesn’t need the F/A-22 because it is so far ahead of the competition. Next time, IAF pilots could be flying MiG-35s as well. According to the Press Trust of India, Moscow has offered India its newer MiG-35 multirole fighter to replace its older airframes.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
