That Sinking Feeling

Despite being India’s dominant arms supplier for decades, Russia finds its influence in military procurements is waning. But that does not mean that the time-tested military relationship between the two countries is under serious threats, points out.

- C Santhosh

Russia continues to remain India’s major arms supplier despite a steady decline in its ability to seal contracts for new military hardware. As per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) data released earlier in the year, India’s weapons imports comprised of 68 percent Russian arms, followed by the USA and Israel who supplied 14 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively. India’s importance to the Russian defence industry cannot be understated, as it accounts for 38 percent of all Russian arms exports, followed by Viet Nam and China each at 11 percent and Algeria at 10 percent. Hence India effectively accounts for more than 1/3rd of all Russian defence exports.

As a result of the large installed base of Russian defence equipment sourced in the early eighties, it will only be by the end of the next decade that the Russian platforms can be phased out of service in India. “Based on existing orders and weapons, Russia will remain, by far, the main supplier of major arms to India for the foreseeable future. However, India expects increasing deliveries due to several major orders from France (another traditional supplier) and from the USA, South Korea and Spain—all of which only recently became suppliers of major weapons to India,” the SIPRI report says.

Change in direction