India-Russia Defence Cooperation: The Way Forward

As one of the main objectives of the Modi Government is to promote joint defence production with other countries in line with the ‘Make in India’, New Delhi sees Moscow playing a vital role in realising the government’s ambitious programme.

- Sumit Kumar

India and Russia. For instance, in December 2014, the two countries signed the Agreement on Training of Indian Armed Forces Personnel in the Military Educational Establishment of the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation. This in turn would help the armed forces of the two countries forge deep engagement with each other. They can effectively share their ideas and experiences about how to deal with security issues like terrorism and others. This agreement would enable the Indian armed forces to identify their capabilities and weakness against a major global military power. Last year, the Indian government announced the purchase of five S-400 air defence systems from Russia, costing around $6 billion. An agreement was signed between the two governments to manufacture Ka-226 helicopters. New Delhi and Moscow are in serious talks on jointly developing the fifth-generation and it has also been reported that both the sides are committed to equally contribute to this project accounting for $4 billion. Efforts have been taken to facilitate the way for many mega projects including the upgradation of Sukhoi-30 MKI jets into Super Sukhois with advance avionics and weapons and other which have been stalled for many years.