Russia supplied 65% of India’s weapons purchases of more than $60 billion during the last two decades, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, but the Ukraine war hastened the impetus to diversify its weapons base
India is seeking to distance itself from its largest arms supplier after Russia’s ability to supply munitions and spares was hobbled by the war in Ukraine, but must step carefully to avoid pushing Moscow closer to China, Indian sources said.
The world’s biggest arms importer is slowly turning West as the United States looks to strengthen ties in the Indo-Pacific region, hoping to contain an ascendant China by weaning the South Asian nation off a traditional dependence on Russia.
Russia supplied 65% of India’s weapons purchases of more than $60 billion during the last two decades, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, but the Ukraine war hastened the impetus to diversify its weapons base.
“We are not likely to sign any major military deal with Russia,” said Nandan Unnikrishnan, a Russia expert at New Delhi think tank the Observer Research Foundation. “That would be a red line for Washington.”
That view comes despite Moscow’s offers, described by four Indian government sources, among them a senior security official who recently retired, as including platforms such as the most advanced Kamov helicopters and Sukhoi and MiG fighter jets, with the added fillip of joint manufacturing in India.
Kõik neli allikat soovisid jääda anonüümseks, et arutada tundlikku teemat.
India ja Venemaa välis- ja kaitseministeerium ei vastanud kommentaaritaotlustele.
Venemaa on avalikult kutsunud Indiat üles tugevdama kaitsesidemeid, kuid peaminister Narendra Modi on keskendunud kodumaisele tootmisele lääne tehnoloogiaga, ütlesid eksperdid ja ametnikud.
Such efforts would better fit Modi’s “Make in India” programme to encourage domestic manufacturing, as he makes a rare bid for a third term in general elections due by May.
India loodab järgmisel kümnendil kulutada kaitsetellimustele ligi 100 miljardit dollarit, ütles India kaitseminister.
Eelmisel aastal sõlmisid India ja Ameerika Ühendriigid kokkuleppe, et General Electric toodab Indias mootoreid oma hävitajate toiteks, mis on esimene selline USA kontsessioon mitteliitlasele.
They also plan to “fast-track” technology co-operation and co-production in areas ranging from air combat to intelligence, they said at the time.
Further driving India’s ties with the United States is disquiet over China, as their troops are embroiled in a standoff on their Himalayan frontier since 2020, when one of their bloodiest clashes in five decades killed 24 soldiers.
Tuumarelvaga naabrid pidasid 1962. aastal sõda, kuid nende enam kui 2,000 miili (3,200 km) pikkune piir on endiselt vaieldav.
Venemaa Pekingile lähemal
India peab Venemaaga, mis on suurim relvaostja ja alates 2022. aastast üks suurimaid nafta ostjaid, olema suhetes Venemaaga. Sellise kaubanduse peatamine lähendaks Moskvat Pekingile, ainsale suurele majandusele, millega ta tegeleb.
“Arms purchase buys you influence,” said the retired security official. “By shutting them out you make them subservient to China.”
Trade with Russia in energy and other areas would help “keep it as far away as possible from China,” added Unnikrishnan, the analyst.
Russia’s arms exports have largely stabilised since the Ukraine war’s early disruptions, which fuelled concerns about India’s operational readiness, the officials said, but the fears have not entirely dissipated.
“As the Ukraine war stretches, it raises questions if Russia will be able to give us spare parts,” said Swasti Rao, Eurasia expert at the state-run Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. “It is fuelling the diversification.”
India otsib Prantsuse reaktiivlennukeid oma uusimale lennukikandjale ja soovib valmistada Prantsuse, Saksa või Hispaania tehnoloogiaga allveelaevu ning Ameerika ja Prantsuse mootoritega hävitajaid, ütlesid allikad.
“India’s multi-alignment will continue, to straddle ties with Russia and balance it with the West, but it will not be an equal distribution,” Rao said.
Vene Push
Venemaa välisminister Sergei Lavrov andis viimase tõuke kaitselepingute sõlmimiseks Indiaga 27. detsembril ühisel pressikonverentsil Moskvat visiidil viibiva India kolleegi S. Jaishankariga.
Lavrov said he discussed with Jaishankar prospects for military and technical co-operation, including joint production of weapons, adding that Russia was also ready to support India’s goal of increasing domestic production.
Jaishankar vastas, et tänu energia-, väetise- ja terasetootmissöe tehingutele on sidemed väga tugevad, kahesuunaline kaubandus on rekordiline, kuid ei maininud kaitset.
Kahe riigi 2015. aastal sõlmitud kokkuleppe osas, mille kohaselt valmistatakse Indias ühiselt Kamov Ka-226T helikopterid, ei ole edusamme tehtud, 200 neist läheb riigi kaitsejõududele.
Selle asemel hakkas India 2022. aastal kasutusele võtma riikliku Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. valmistatud lahinguhelikoptereid.
Weapons, from Soviet or Russian-origin tanks to an aircraft carrier and surface-to-air missile systems, make up more than 60% of India’s military hardware.
New Delhi vajab hoolduseks ja remondiks Vene varuosi ligi kaks aastakümmet, ütlesid ametnikud.
Nad toodavad ühiselt tiibraketti BrahMos ja kavatsevad toota Indias vintpüsse AK-203.
Kuid luksumine on hõlmanud eelmisel aastal India õhujõudude kommentaare, mille kohaselt Venemaa ei suutnud täita oma kohustust suure platvormi tarnimisel, mida ta ei tuvastanud.
And there has been more than a year’s delay in Russia’s delivery of parts of an air defence system India bought in 2018 for $5.5 billion, two Indian military officials said.
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