Indian Defense Giants Quietly Meet Russian Arms Firms in Moscow for Joint Projects

At least half a dozen executives from leading Indian arms manufacturers have traveled to Moscow this year for a meeting on potential joint ventures with Russian defense companies, marking the first such industry visit since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to Reuters on December 9. 

The talks were held in Moscow on October 29–30 on the sidelines of an Indian defense-industrial delegation, which met Russian counterparts as part of a working group under the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation.

The meetings, which participants described as sensitive, focused on manufacturing spare parts for MiG-29 fighter jets  and other Russian-origin air defense and weapons systems in India, as well as a Russian proposal to establish production units in India that could supply equipment to both the Indian armed forces and for export to Russia. 

The Moscow meetings drew a broad group of Indian defense-industry representatives, which supplies components for missiles and artillery.

Russia remains India’s largest arms supplier, accounting for approximately 36% of the country’s military inventory. Both governments have recently pledged to shift their long-standing defense relationship away from a buyer-seller model toward joint development and manufacturing in India.

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In a joint statement issued after the December 4–5 summit in New Delhi, the Indian government and Russian leader Vladimir Putin stated that the partnership was “reorienting presently to joint research and development, co-development and co-production of advanced defense technology and systems” in support of India’s drive for defense self-reliance. 

While officials in New Delhi can lobby foreign partners to limit sanctions exposure, one Indian defense official told Reuters that companies would ultimately have to judge for themselves how potential new projects with Russia might affect their access to Western markets and technology. 

Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine found Indian-made or assembled electronic components in Shahed-136 drones used by Russia, prompting Kyiv to raise the issue with both New Delhi and the EU over diversion risks in dual-use supply chains.

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