Defence independence india has to reduce russian imports but dependency on the west no solution either

Defence independence india has to reduce russian imports but dependency on the west no solution either

While speaking to the UK Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, British foreign secretary Liz Truss said that India’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the result of New Delhi’s dependence on Moscow, and that the way forward is closer India-UK ties. She is correct insofar as more than 50% of India’s military assets are of Russian origin. These need constant maintenance, upgrades and spares – even as the new Western sanctions on Russia, such as excluding several Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system, mean a considerable strain on India’s traditional defence ties with Moscow. But exchanging dependency on Russia for dependency on the West is no solution for India.

Over the last decade India has made concerted attempts to diversify its defence imports. For example, the Indian air force today heavily relies on the American C-17 and C-130J Super Hercules in its heavy-lift transport fleet. The helicopter fleet too has inducted the American Chinook and Apache. But cost competitiveness, proven battlefield performance and familiarity with consecutive generations of servicemen still make Russian platforms preferable. Then there is the issue of technology transfer. Although no country is willing to share cutting-edge military tech, Russia has been slightly more open to helping India develop strategic platforms such as cruise missiles and nuclear submarines.

Even with this Russian help, India today is in no position to build assets like a fifth-generation fighter from scratch. In the near term, India has to maintain a diversified defence portfolio, because switching out all Russian defence equipment for Western imports is not feasible. But in the medium- to long-term, especially given the sanctions on Russia and Moscow’s growing strategic convergence with Beijing, India has to develop its own indigenous military-industrial complex, capable of serving various needs including cutting-edge platforms. That’s the only way to have a truly independent defence and strategic policy.