India inks $47m deal with Russia’s Rosoboronexport for Tunguska missile systems.
NEW DELHI: On Friday, India approved $25 billion in defense acquisitions, including transport aircraft, Russian S-400 missile systems, and remotely piloted strike drones, as part of its ongoing military modernization and efforts to replenish equipment following its conflict with Pakistan.
The decision follows another major approval last month worth $40 billion to acquire additional French Rafale fighter jets for the air force and Boeing P-8I reconnaissance aircraft for the navy.
Friday’s approvals also included purchases of armor-piercing tank ammunition, gun systems, and aerial surveillance equipment for the army, upgrades to extend the service life of Sukhoi-30 fighter jets for the air force, and hovercraft for the coastguard, according to a defence ministry statement.
Separately, the ministry signed a 4.45 billion rupee ($47 million) contract on Friday with Russia’s JSC Rosoboronexport to acquire Tunguska air defence missile systems for the army.
Overall, India has approved 55 proposals worth 6.73 trillion rupees ($71 billion) and signed contracts for 503 additional proposals totaling 2.28 trillion rupees in the fiscal year ending March 31, the statement said, noting that both figures are the highest recorded in a single fiscal year.
India is the world’s fifth-largest military spender and the second-largest arms importer after Ukraine, according to the latest figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
For decades, the country has been modernizing its predominantly Soviet-era military equipment while increasingly turning to suppliers such as France, Israel, the United States, and Germany. In recent years, India has also emphasized domestic production, aiming to manufacture weapons, drones, fighter jets, and submarines either independently or in partnership with foreign companies.
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