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Russian-Indian Joint Military Projects to Boost Delhi’s
Defense Industry
18:56
19.12.2014(updated 15:10 20.12.2014)
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Russia will help India to renew its aging military
hardware, providing the country with its most advanced technologies.
Russian-Indian joint military projects will help India to bolster its defense
industry.
MOSCOW, December 19
(Sputnik), Ekaterina Blinova – Russia will provide India with its most
advanced weapons and technologies in order to renew Delhi's aging
military hardware; since the countries have launched joint military
projects, India has obtained new opportunities on the weapons market.
"Russia wants
early inking of the final R&D contract for the joint
fifth-generation fighter (FGFA) project, in which India will invest $5.5
billion to develop a stealth fighter. India will spend around $25 billion
on 127 such fighters, to be built domestically, in the FGFA
project," the Times of India reported.
India will also
assemble 400 Russian Ka-226T helicopters a year. The deal is important
to India, since the country needs to upgrade its aging military
hardware.
"I am pleased
that Russia has offered to fully manufacture in India one of its
most advanced helicopters. It includes the possibility of exports
from India. It can be used for both military and civilian use. We
will follow up on this quickly," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said in an official statement as quoted by Defense News.
Russia is also ready
to provide India with its Akula-II class nuclear-powered submarines,
which will bolster India's capability to maintain control over its
territorial waters in the Indian Ocean amid growing geopolitical tensions
in the region.
Bloomberg notes that
India acquired its first nuclear submarine costing $1 billion from Russia
in 2012. Delhi is intended to renew its old diesel-power fleet
of submarines, since "half of them were commissioned in the
1980s."
It should be noted
that India has always been one the biggest Russia's defense customer. The Times
of India points out that Russian-Indian arms deals included
"refit of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov or INS Vikra maditya
($2.33 billion), six Talwar-class stealth frigates (almost $2 billion), 272
almost $2 billion), 272 Sukhois (project cost over $12 billion), 45 MiG-29Ks
($2 billion), 139 Mi-17 V5s helicopters (over $2 billion)."
"Russia will
remain our most important defense partner," Prime Minister Narendra Modi
underscored during his meeting with Vladimir Putin earlier this
month, pledging to deepen the defense cooperation.
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