New Delhi, 24 March 2023 (GNP): As per a statement made by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to a parliamentary committee, posted on its website on March 21, Russia is unable to deliver crucial defense supplies it had pledged to India’s military due to the Ukraine War.
Russia had scheduled a “big delivery” this year, an IAF representative said to the panel, but it will not be carried out.
Rosoboron Export, the agency of the Russian government responsible for exporting weapons, didn’t respond right away.
“We don’t have information which may confirm the stated”, a representative for the Russian Embassy in New Delhi remarked.
The statement, released publicly in a report by India’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday, is the first formal denial by Indian officials following a flurry of rumors and media reports that suggested Russian capability was lacking.
The representative reportedly said, “They have given us in writing that they are not able to deliver it”.
The S-400 Triumf air defense system units that India purchased in 2018 for $5.4 billion are the biggest scheduled delivery.
According to Reuters, three of these systems have already been delivered, and two more are on the order.
The IAF relies on Russia for replacement parts for its Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighter planes, the cornerstone of the service department.
The Russo-Ukrainian war, according to information provided to India’s Parliamentary Committee, had such a profound impact on the supply that it ultimately reduced capital expenditures for updating military equipment by over a third.
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In the national budget that was unveiled in February, the IAF reduced its capital spending estimate from 853 billion rupees (US10.38 billion) to 588 billion rupees (US7.15 billion).
World’s second-largest Arms Exporter:
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Center (SIPRI), Russia is the second-largest supplier of weapons worldwide.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, declared earlier this month that a significant effort will be made to ramp up the country’s ability to create additional weaponry for the war since it is “urgently needed.”
Putin’s command came in response to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner, repeatedly complaining that his mercenaries were not receiving enough ammunition during their protracted battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut.
India’s primary source of Arms:
For several decades, India’s primary supplier of weapons and defense technology has been Russia, and before that, the Soviet Union.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s most recent data reveals that of the $18.3 billion India has spent on weaponry imports during 2017, Russia accounted for $8.5 Billion.
‘Russia remains India’s main source of weapons even as the nation has drastically trimmed purchases’—SIPRI’s new #ArmsTransfers data featured in this @Bloomberg article: https://t.co/IDNcw8xQlR
— SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) March 17, 2023
New Delhi has turned westward toward France, the United States, and Israel during the past 20 years in an effort to lessen its reliance on Moscow.
Also, it is encouraging Indian businesses to increase domestic production while working with international firms.
To assist the government’s “Made in India” strategy, India decided in 2022 to withdraw plans of buying 48 Mi-17 V5 helicopters from Russia.
