The relationship between New Delhi and Moscow has withstood the test of time and geopolitical shifts, while the defense partnership remains a vital bridge connecting the two nations
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visited Moscow at a crucial time when the two countries are working to reshape and reinvigorate their longstanding partnership based on trust and shared concerns. Singh’s trip comes shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia in October for the BRICS summit in Kazan. It also happens ahead of the planned visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India early next year.
The defense minster called on Putin, conveying Modi’s warm greetings and stating that India has always stood by its Russian friends and will continue to do so in future. “Friendship between our countries is higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest ocean,” he said.
Earlier, Singh participated in the commissioning ceremony of the Russian-made warship INS Tushil at the Yantra shipyard in Kaliningrad along with the chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. The multirole stealth-guided missile frigate is known to be one of the most technologically advanced warships globally. It is expected to significantly bolster the Indian Navy’s operational capability in the Indian Ocean.
The minister also co-chaired, along with his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov, the 21st meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) in Moscow. The commission is tasked with reviewing the entire range of defense relations between the two countries, including military-to-military and industrial cooperation. Among the ongoing defense projects are the Russian S-400 Triumf air defense systems, widely regarded as one of the most advanced in the world.
The $5.43 billion deal for five units of the S-400 was inked in 2018, meaning India took a decisive step to ignore America’s CAATSA act.
Three systems have already been delivered to India, while the remaining two are yet to be shipped, marking a point of concern for New Delhi. The Western sanctions in the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict have affected some payments, and in turn delayed certain projects and affected procurement of spare parts for existing Russian-origin weapons, as well as maintenance and servicing of legacy equipment. These issues are believed to have featured in the discussions between the two delegations.
Time-tested relationship
New Delhi has enjoyed close bilateral ties with Russia, and previously with the USSR, since the time of India’s independence in 1947. While initially Washington tried to woo India as an Asian bulwark against the growing threat of communism, the newly formed nation decided to remain non-aligned. The US then chose to befriend Pakistan and India chose to make friends with the Soviet Union.
India began acquiring Soviet military hardware starting with battle tanks, combat ships, submarines, helicopters, transport aircraft, and later the formidable MiG-21. At its peak, 85% of India’s military hardware was of Soviet origin.
During the Cold War, India and the USSR formed a strong and strategic relationship. Even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia kept the same close ties to India through a “special and privileged strategic partnership.” The two sides support the creation of a multipolar world order with both being important and responsible poles.
Traditionally, the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been built on five major components: politics, defense, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism cooperation, and the advancement of and exploration of space travel.
Both countries are members of international bodies, including the UN, BRICS, G20, and SCO. Russia supports India receiving a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. New Delhi helped the induction of Russia as a dialogue partner in the Indian Ocean Rim Association, which may give Russia a major role in the Indian Ocean.
In addition to annual summits, India and Russia hold 2+2 ministerial meetings of foreign and defense ministers. A poll conducted in the summer 2022 shows that Indians most frequently named Russia their most trusted partner.
Russia’s role in ‘Make in India’
The USSR helped India build its aircraft, tanks, and submarine and ship factories. Russia supported India with nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, guns, and missiles. India built over 800 MiG-21s, 170 MiG-27s and 230 Sukhoi Su-30MKI domestically, while it built over 1,000 T-72 Ajeya and T-90S Bhishma, and many naval ships with Russian support.
India has a huge helicopter fleet of Russian origin. India’s missile program has been developed with significant help from USSR and then Russia.
Between 2012 and 2016, Russia accounted for 68% of India’s defense imports. Cooperation between Russia and India is not limited to a buyer-seller relationship but includes joint research and development, training, service-to-service contacts, including joint exercises. India and Russia have deepened their Make in India defense manufacturing cooperation by starting many joint ventures, such as BrahMos cruise missile.
The AK-203 assault rifles have been built in India since 2022 by the Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL).
The Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership was signed in 2000, which was elevated to the level of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership in 2010. Defense cooperation is an important pillar of this strategic partnership. India and Russia have an institutionalized structure to oversee the complete range of issues of military and military technical cooperation.
As India perceives increasing threats from Pakistan and China, it has ambitious plans to produce its own major arms. Russia has proposed joint ventures for producing a futuristic main battle tank, infantry fighting vehicle, fifth-generation aircraft, and other types of modern weapons.
Russia, along with four other international bidders, has also pitched to jointly make six conventional submarines (air independent propulsion) for the Navy under the P75-I project. India and Russia have also had talks to lease two nuclear-ballistic submarines, the Chakra 3 and Chakra 4.
While geopolitically Russia and India may have a different approach to certain issues – Moscow considers the US-led Quad grouping as the ‘Asian NATO’ and calls military alliances in Asia counterproductive, while New Delhi remains wary of the growing military partnership between Russia and China and their shared opposition to the Indo-Pacific framework – the two countries value their existing partnership and respect each others’ commitments.
Russia, naturally, would be conscious of not depending too much on China and needs India as a hedge and balance. Clearly, both Russia and India need each other and the umbilical cord between the two will continue to remain connected for decades ahead.
