After Russia invades Ukraine, the old relations between India and Russia are in discussion again, especially about the defense relationship between the two countries. India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her visit to the US in April that India wants to remain a "good friend" of Western countries.
But he also said that India does not want it to become weak and it has to ensure its security as well. It also meant that India's long-standing dependence on Russia for its security needs would continue.
How dependent is India on Russian weapons?
India is one of the world's largest arms buyers and India had decades of strong defense ties with the former Soviet Union. Russia has remained an important defense ally of India even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. India has an old enmity with Pakistan and relations with China are going through the worst phase in recent times, so India's relationship with Russia is very important.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), an organization that monitors the arms trade around the world, two-thirds of all the weapons that India has bought since 1992 have come from Russia.
At the same time, according to the US-based research institute Stimson Center, 85% of the total weapons with India can be weapons purchased from Russia. These include fighter aircraft, nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, warships, tanks, and highly advanced missiles.
Is India trying to diversify arms purchases?
In the last decade, India's dependence on Russia's weapons has decreased and weapons have been bought from other countries, especially from France. Apart from this, India has also bought weapons from Israel, America, and Britain, but the quantity of these weapons is less.
According to SIPRI data, India bought twice as many weapons from France, America, and Israel in 2021 as compared to 2017. However, Russia remains the main supplier to India.
India has bought Rafale and Mirage fighter aircraft and Scorpion submarines from France.
Recently, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Emmanuel Macron in France, both the leaders said in a joint statement that India and France have further strengthened their cooperation in the defense sector. It has also been agreed to increase cooperation in advanced defense technology.
Similarly, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited India in April this year, the two countries emphasized strengthening security ties and increasing cooperation in advanced fighter jet technology.
India has also bought advanced weapons from Israel in recent years, such as…
drone equipment
airborne warning system
the anti-missile defense system
precision-guided missile
At the same time, India's military and security ties with America are also getting stronger. There has also been a significant increase in defense trade between the two countries between 2018-19.
India has bought long-range reconnaissance aircraft from America. In addition, the cargo aircraft C-130 is procured. Apart from this, India has also bought missiles and drones from America.
Recently, in a statement issued by the Pentagon, it was said that India and America are also increasing cooperation in the field of space defense and cyber security.
Is India reconsidering its dependence on Russia?
There have been many changes in international politics and diplomacy in recent years and India has come closer to countries like France, America, and Israel. Despite this, India did not criticize Russia for its attack on Ukraine. India made it clear that it will not take any side in this struggle.
Many analysts believe that at this time India has the option of reducing dependence on Russia, which is facing strict sanctions.
Defense and security expert Samir Lalwani at the Stimson Center says that India has got only a few parts of the surface-to-sky missile defense system S-400 that India bought from Russia in 2018. Now India may face difficulties in getting its important parts.
"There are strong reasons to believe that Russia may fail to fulfill its obligation to supply the S-400 systems sold to India," says Lalwani.
Lalwani says that the way Russia suffered heavy losses in Ukraine, indicates that instead of meeting India's needs, Russia will use resources to repair its defense system, and the parts that India will need, They might not be able to meet on time.
He also says that the way some of Russia's equipment failed on the battlefield of Ukraine, will also be seen by the policymakers of India.
Can India run without Russia's weapons?
At this point, it seems unlikely. A US parliamentary report released in October last year said, "India's military cannot function effectively with Russia without Russian weapons. And the Indian military will be dependent on Russian weapons shortly."
It was also said in this report that Russia sells its weapons at attractive prices.
Sangeeta Saxena, the editor of Aviation and Defense Universe, published in Delhi, says that India's army will continue to buy weapons from Russia itself.
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