Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia remains one of India’s leading suppliers of advanced weapons and defence technology as “India is Russia’s especially privileged strategic partner”.
Mr. Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to sign an agreement on the delivery of S-400 ‘Triumph’ anti-missile defence systems and other deals during the BRICS Summit in Goa this weekend, Russian news agencies quoted Mr. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov as saying. Russia has deployed the S-400, its most modern air defence system, for the bombing campaign Syria.
“Our countries actively collaborate in the military technical field. Russia remains in the lead in terms of both direct supplies of most advanced weapons and military equipment and conducting joint researches with India, as well as producing goods for military purposes,” Mr. Putin told IANS/Sputnik in an exclusive interview.
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“The construction of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the development of a new, fifth generation fighter aircraft are among the successful joint projects,” Mr. Putin said.
He said many of the Russian projects in India had commercial importance and played a social and economic role for the two economies.
He said such projects “harmoniously fit in the new Indian industrialisation programme”, a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative.
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“Russian companies see real prospects and high attractiveness of the Indian market,” Mr. Putin said.
The S-400 anti-missile system can track some 300 targets and shoot down around three dozen simultaneously over a range of several hundred kilometres.
India has signed a series of key defence deals under the Modi government as part of a $100-billion upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware, making it an attractive proposition for arms exporters. — IANS/AFP