India is dependent on Russia for nearly 60% of its defense equipment, and the war in Ukraine has raised doubts about future supplies.
Defense ministry officials say India, with the world’s second largest army, fourth largest air force and seventh largest navy, cannot sustain itself through imports.
“Our aim is to develop India as a defense manufacturing hub,” Defense Minister Rajnath Singh On Thursday released a list of military equipment that it said would be produced domestically and would no longer be imported.
The ministry’s website said military orders worth 2,100 billion rupees ($28 billion) are likely to be placed for domestic government and private defense manufacturers over the next five years.
Former Lieutenant General DS Hooda said that during the visit of the President of Russia to India last year Vladimir Putin Both sides decided to shift some of the manufacturing to India to meet their requirements. Imports of helicopters, corvettes, tank engines, missiles and airborne early warning systems would eventually be stopped.
“The requirements of the Russian army, the kind of damage it is suffering from, may mean that we may need some of those spares,” said Hooda, a retired Indian Army general.
Ministry officials said that to meet its short-term requirements, India may consider purchases from former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact countries.
A ministry official said Bulgaria, Poland, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine can help India with additional supplies for Russian fighter aircraft Sukhoi and MiG-29s and upgrade of tanks and armored vehicles as they have similar Soviet origins. There are platforms and parts. Due to his anonymity, he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his British counterpart Liz Truss during his visit to India last week that the emphasis is now on “Made in India” and “the more allies we have, the greater the possibilities of working together.” Huh.”
The two sides discussed ways to strengthen India-British defense ties, ostensibly to reduce India’s strategic dependence on Russia.
India’s Defense Ministry has so far identified a “positive indigenization list” of over 300 items, with a timeline to ban imports to help local manufacturers meet the requirements of the armed forces in the coming years. Is.
India’s Air Force has over 410 Soviet and Russian fighter aircraft with a mix of imported and license-built platforms, including Su30s, MiG-21s and MiG 29s. Everyone needs Russian parts and components. India also has Russian submarines, tanks, helicopters, submarines, warships and missiles.
The sanctions on Moscow could jeopardize India’s recent $375 million BrahMos cruise missile export order from the Philippines. Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia, which formed a joint venture with India’s government-run Defense Research and Development Organization to design, upgrade and manufacture BrahMos, is responsible for providing the missile system’s engines and seekers.
Defense analyst Rahul Bedi said India awaits delivery of Russian missile systems, warships, Akula-class nuclear-powered submarines and assault rifles.
Prime minister Narendra ModiThe U.S. government is pushing for greater self-reliance, but India lacks a strong industrial base for military equipment.
The process of shifting manufacturing of spare parts to India has begun, but Hooda said it is not clear whether it can quickly fill any shortfalls in supply.
“I would say it’s going to take at least five years if you really want to see significant progress,” he said.
The Defense Ministry has also signed about 60 offset contracts worth more than $13 billion by 2027 for the purchase of fighter jets and weapons from the United States, France, Russia and Israel. The deals require 30-50% of the contract value to be returned to India as offset or reinvestment.
An offset involves an obligation by a foreign supplier to purchase a certain quantity of goods from the importing country as part of the contract. The government of India wants a part of that money to benefit its defense industry or allow the country to acquire in terms of technology. This includes setting up joint ventures with Indian companies to manufacture defense equipment.
The government announced in the budget for 2022-23 that 68% of all capital defense procurement would be for indigenous manufacturers.
Meanwhile, bilateral defense trade with the US increased from almost zero in 2008 to $15 billion in 2019. Major Indian purchases from the United States included long-range maritime patrol aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and drones.
In 2020, India announced that foreign companies could invest more than 49% in its defense manufacturing units, up to 74% without any government approval. It aims to attract foreign companies with advanced technologies to set up factories in India in collaboration with local companies.
India completely limited its defense sector to private sector companies in 2001. However, according to the Defense Ministry, out of 330 private companies with industrial licenses for such manufacturing, only 110 have started production.
Starting from scratch, India’s state-run Defense Research and Development Organization began efforts to develop advanced defense technologies in 1958. It has worked on short range and long range Agni and Prithvi missiles, Tejas light combat aircraft, tanks, multi barrel rockets. A wide range of launchers, air defense systems and radar and electronic warfare systems.
The Defense Ministry has earmarked 10 billion rupees ($135 million) for procurement from startups in 2020-2021.
Government has set up two Defense Industrial Corridors in North Uttar Pradesh and Southern Tamil Nadu With an investment of 200 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) by 2024 by state-run and private sector companies.