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Russia to bid for all Indian defence tenders |
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In a bid to maintain its position as principal arms supplier to India, Russia will participate in all international defence tenders floated by the Indian Defence Ministry, a senior official of Moscow’s monopoly arms exporter has said.
Victor Komardin, Deputy Director of state-owned Rosoboronexport, noted that more and more international arms traders are bidding for the increasingly lucrative Indian market, making the competition tough.
Russia is determined to take part in all the international tenders floated by the Indian Defence Ministry in order to maintain its traditionally strong position in that country, he said.
India, which has embarked on a massive modernisation programme of its defence forces, has decided to invite international tenders for major defence acquisition programmes in order to make the deals more transparent and get the best bargains.
Komardin said upgradation of T-72 tanks, imported from the erstwhile Soviet Union or built in India under Soviet licence, is one of the major modernisation programmes of the Indian army under discussion.
India has about 1,700 T-72 tanks but only one-third of them are operational while others require serious repair or upgradation. Russia has presented a draft plan for refurbishing the tanks, he said.
Ukraine, Poland and some other countries, which have known expertise in T-72 tanks, are in the race for the modernisation of the Indian fleet and are expected to offer tough competition to Russia.
India is also planning to modernise its navy through the induction of a number of world-class submarines by building them in its shipyards under licence, and Russia is a strong bidder, Komardin said.
Moscow has offered state-of-the-art Amur-1650 and Amur-950 super-class submarines with latest technology, but here too it faces tough competition from France.
Israel is another country from which Russia is facing strong competition as India plans to modernise its MiG-25 and MiG-29 jets.
Other Russian offers for the Indian Defence Ministry include Ka-31 helicopters with Kabris radar unit, artillery radar unit IL-220 and close combat arms for special forces.
Russian experts say Moscow stands a good chance of winning some of these major deals because of the international standard of its technology, highly competitive prices and, last but not the least, its traditionally strong military ties with New Delhi.
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