Russia has $15 Billion Defense Order Backlog with India: Russian FSMTC

Russian defense industry is presently committed to ship $15 billion worth of military equipment to India and expects another contract for Igla-S MANPADS soon.

“Everything is going smoothly with Indian partners. We have a good backlog of orders, equal to about 15 billion. I hope that in the near future an agreement will be signed on the production and supply of Igla-S in the interests of India, especially since we have won the tender unconditionally,” Dmitry Shugaev, head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), told during an interview to Zvezda channel, run by defense ministry.

Shugaev revealed that joint production of Kalashnikov AK-203 7.62 mm Assault Rifles 200 series is currently underway.

India’s mammoth order book includes $5.4 billion for S-400 defense systems, $900 million for 21 new MiG-29s and upgrade of 59 more of those aircraft, $1.44 billion for 12 Su-30MKI jets, $3.12 billion for 464 Bhishma T-90S main battle tanks ($1.2 billion for UralVagonZavod for technology transfer, $1.92 for India’s OFB for local production), $3 billion ten-year lease contract for nuclear-powered Akula submarine, $940 million for 2 Talwar-class frigates, $960 million for 2 Admiral Grigorovich-class stealth frigates, and $1.1 billion for 48 Mi-17 helicopters.

Russia is likely to bag more deals from India, which is currently on a military modernization spree. On the cards is joint production of 140 Kamov KA-226T ‘Hoodlum’ light utility helicopters for $1 billion, building Project 12701 Alexandrit-E class minesweepers and Project 75I diesel-electric submarines in India under the Make in India program.