Russia is unable to meet its commitments to deliver vital defense supplies to India, with the Indian Air Force saying the war in Ukraine has depleted Moscow’s military supplies.
An IAF statement, which was presented before a parliamentary committee and posted on its website earlier this week, said a planned “major delivery” of Russian equipment would not take place.
Officials have blamed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine for the shortage – an excuse they used to cancel a planned procurement of Russian helicopters last year, instead turning to local manufacturing to try to fill the gap.
The report did not mention delivery details, India has received a number of weapons and vehicles from Russia in recent years, such as an air defense system in 2018 and backup fighter jets, including the MiG-29 and the Su-30MKI. In some cases Russia has delivered reserve units to India.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin waits before a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, September 16, 2022. (Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via Reuters)
Reuters noted that the largest “pending delivery” from Russia to India was of units of the S-400 Triumf air defense system, which India bought for a reported $5.4 billion. India has received three such systems, with two more required to complete the contract.
The US Treasury said in February that sanctions and export controls put in place in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had “degraded Russia’s ability to replace more than 9,000 pieces of military equipment lost since the start of the war.” “.
The sanctions also allegedly “forced production halts at key defense facilities and caused shortages of components essential to tank and aircraft production.”
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Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet takes off from newly constructed highway after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 340km Purvanchal Expressway at Sultanpur in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India on 16 November 2021. (Reuters/Pawan Kumar)
“Russia is also running out of ammunition and has lost up to 50% of its tanks,” the department wrote in a statement posted online. “At the same time, our coalition supplied Ukraine with state-of-the-art military equipment, while Russia was forced to resort to mothballed Soviet-era weapons.”
The shortage will have a significant impact on India’s plans to continue modernizing its forces: officials said it needed to cut planned spending for the next financial year by a third compared to the previous one.
A spokesman for the Russian embassy in New Delhi told Reuters that he had “no information that could confirm the allegations”. Rosoboronexport, the Russian government’s arms export subsidiary, said nothing about the matter.
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The Indian Air Force Mi-17 V5 performs a flight performance during the 89th Air Force Day Parade, at the Hindon Air Force Station, Ghaziabad, India on Oct. 8, 2021. (Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis)
Russia accounted for more than 40 percent of India’s defense imports in 2017, amounting to about $8.5 billion of the total $18.3 billion spent that year, according to The Defense Post.
India has also initially remained quiet on Russia’s actions in Ukraine abstain from voting to condemn Russia’s actions, but shortly thereafter condemned Russia’s actions in Bucha and called for an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine.
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India has been trying to reduce its dependence on Russia for the past two decades, severing a relationship that began in 1947.
Instead, India has sought partners in the United States, France and Israel to supply the necessary equipment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
