Rajnath Singh, Belousov to discuss key defence issues tomorrow

India and Russia will hold high-level defence talks on Thursday, focusing on faster delivery of military equipment, additional S-400 missile systems, upgrades to Sukhoi-30 jets, and potential Su-57 purchases, ahead of the Modi-Putin summit in New Delhi

New Delhi: India’s keenness in procurement of S-400 missile systems, upgrade of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets, and purchasing other critical military hardware from Russia will be on the agenda for talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov on Thursday.

Top military officials said the overall focus will be to further expand the already close defence and security ties between the two countries, with a particular focus on ensuring expeditious supply of military hardware from Russia to India.

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Belousov will be part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s delegation to India. The talks between the two defence ministers will take place a day ahead of the summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin.

In the meeting with Belousov, the Indian side is likely to push for the supply of military hardware within the prescribed time limit. It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.

It is learnt that India is looking at procuring additional batches of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia, as the weapons proved to be very effective during Operation Sindoor.

The issue may figure in the defence dialogue, one of the officials said. In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Three squadrons have already been delivered. The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may look at procuring the S-500 missile systems as well from Russia.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that there may be a discussion on the possibility of Russia supplying Su-57 fighter jets to India. India is in the process of procuring a batch of fifth-generation fighter jets.

Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, Lockheed Martin’s F-21, Boeing’s F/A-18, and the Eurofighter Typhoon are the main contenders. The Modi-Putin summit is also expected to review the overall India-Russia defence ties.

India and Russia have a mechanism under which India’s prime minister and the Russian president hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties. So far, 22 annual summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia. The Russian president had last visited New Delhi in 2021.

In July last year, PM Modi travelled to Moscow for the annual summit. Russia has been a time-tested partner for India and a key pillar of New Delhi’s foreign policy.