India plans to give up Russian weapons - Reuters
India is seeking to distance itself from Russia as its largest arms supplier and is gradually reorienting itself towards the West.
According to Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform, Reuters reports this with reference to Indian sources.
As noted, India, as the world's largest arms importer, is gradually reorienting itself to the West as the United States seeks to strengthen ties in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia has supplied 65% of India's arms purchases worth more than $60 billion over the past two decades, but the war in Ukraine has accelerated the push to diversify India's arms base.
"We are unlikely to sign any major military agreement with Russia. That would be a red line for Washington," said Nandan Unnikrishnan, a Russia expert at the Observer Research Foundation think tank in New Delhi.
According to experts and officials, Russia has publicly urged India to strengthen defence ties, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focused on domestic production using Western technology.
Such efforts fit better with Modi's Make in India programme, which aims to encourage domestic production, Reuters reports. According to India's Defence Minister, the country plans to spend almost $100 billion on defence orders over the next decade.
As noted, India and the United States plan to "accelerate" technological cooperation and joint production in the defence industry. Last year, the countries signed an agreement under which General Electric will produce engines for its fighter jets in India. This was the first such concession by the US to non-allied countries.
In addition, according to Reuters sources, India is considering purchasing French fighter jets for its newest aircraft carrier, and wants to produce submarines using French, German or Spanish technology and fighter jets with American and French engines.
"India will continue to develop cooperation in different areas to simultaneously maintain ties with Russia and balance them with ties to the West, but it will not be an even distribution," said Swasti Rao, who is a Eurasia expert at the state-run Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
