Six major aircraft makers - Lockheed and Boeing from the U.S., Russia's MiG, which is part of the UAC, France's Dassault, Sweden's SAAB and EADS, a consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian companies - are in contention to win the tender for the deal, worth an estimated $10 billion.
Eighteen aircraft are to be delivered in ready-to-fly condition, and 108 are to be assembled in India under license.
"The competition is very tough, but we have several trump cards - the MiG-35's superb performance characteristics and the fact that Russia and India share a long-standing partnership in strategic and political cooperation," Alexey Fyodorov said.
India is one of the key buyers of Russian weaponry, with contracts including the delivery of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier with at least 16 MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters, the Smerch MLRS, and licensed production of T-90 tanks in India.
Russia signed in March a contract with the Indian Defense Ministry to upgrade around 70 MiG-29 fighters, in service since the 1980s, and agreed to develop a fifth-generation fighter together with India.
Moscow said if MiG-35 wins the tender, Russia is ready to transfer all key technology to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and provide assistance for the serial production of the aircraft in the country.
Russia's MiG-35, an export version of the MiG-29M OVT (Fulcrum F) is a highly maneuverable air superiority fighter, which won high acclaim during the Le Bourget air show in France last year.
The fighter is powered by RD-33 OVT thrust vectoring engines. The RD-33 OVT engines provide superior maneuverability and enhance the fighter's performance in close air engagements.
Among the other aircraft put forward in the tender are the French Dassault Rafale, the Swedish Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and a number of U.S. fighters produced by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
"So far, none of the participants has met the demands of the tender put forward by the Indian air force," Fyodorov said.
India desperately needs to upgrade its fighter fleet, which mainly consists of obsolete Russian models, including the MiG-21 Fishbed and MiG-23 Flogger designs.
Although India has designed and flown its own modern fighter, the Tejas, its entry into service has been delayed for at least another four years, according to Indian officials.
