U.S. Air Force Cancels F-35, F-16 Demo Flights at Aero India 2025

Aero show enthusiasts in India will be disappointed as the U.S. Air Force has canceled the scheduled demonstration flights of its front-line F-35 stealth jet and the upgraded F-16 fighter aircraft.

The American aircraft are billed as the main draw at the biennial show scheduled for February 10-14 in Bangalore.

The U.S. Air Combat Command which manages demonstration flights has shown the year-round schedule at air shows has listed the F-35 and F-16 flights at Aero India 2025 as "canceled.”

The F-35 which made a stunning debut at Aero India 2023 was expected to repeat its enthralling aerobatics this year in the company of the F-16.

While the reasons for the cancellation are not given, one of them could be business interests. India is not looking to buy all-new aircraft anytime soon given its reliance on the French-made Rafale and a recent upgrade program sanctioned for the Su-30MKI.

While the U.S. has been pushing India to buy the F-16, an aircraft considered inferior to the Rafale, India is more interested in the fifth generation F-35, an aircraft which has its order book full for the current decade and unlikely to be sold to India anytime soon.

Su-57 for Aero India?

The Russian Su-57 fifth generation fighter, which Moscow has been wooing India with, could land in Bangalore, though there is no official world about it from the Russians.

The Su-57 made a stunning debut at the Air Show China in late 2024 and the F-35 cancellation could give it exclusive visibility in a country which has traditionally preferred Russian fighter jets over American ones.