Parrikar to visit Russia to firm up defence deals

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia in December, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will visit Russia as a part of his two-nation tour from November 1-5. Mr Parrikar will also attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in Kaula Lampur after his Russia trip.

India has been steadily strengthening its defence ties with Russia. The Defence Ministry has cleared deals worth Rs 12,000 crore which range from the acquisition of two additional regiments of the indigenous Pinaka multiple-launch rocket systems to the upgrade of 26 Ilyushin transport aircraft by Russia. Mr Parrikar’s visit would focus on the acquisition of long-range air defence systems and two different kinds of helicopters. These agreements are likely to be finalised during Mr Modi’s visit to Russia in December.

India is interested in procuring S-400 Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM) from Russia, which have a range of up to 400 km and the negotiations are expected to be completed to build Kamov-226 T utility helicopters in India and buy additional Mi-17 V5 medium lift helicopters.

“They may not take a final shape during my visit but we’d like to prepare some of them for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia in December, for example, the project for joint production of Kamov Ka-226 helicopters, the purchase of S-400 missile systems. We anticipate these projects to be coordinated by next month,” Mr. Parrikar said.

Mr Parrikar, who will chair the annual Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation meeting along with Russia’s Defence Minsiter Sergei Shoigu, has expressed his intent to complete the negotiations before Mr Modi’s visit. “I hope to use my visit to have it inked on paper when the Prime Minister arrives,” Mr Parrikar said.

Elaborating on the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) to be jointly developed by India and Russia, Mr. Parrikar said that negotiations would proceed further, but added, “We have halted ourselves to establish things clear in our minds.” Talks on the final production agreement have been stalled due to differences in work share for the Indian side.

Mr Parrikar is also expected to discuss the possibility of manufacturing the spare parts for Su-30MKI under the ‘Make in India’ programme.

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