Their military-technical ties are changing, but this isn’t at the expense of their strategic partnership and most certainly not due to foreign influence, be it American or Chinese.
Most of the knives and swords cut both ways. Russia had some really bad experiences with China in weapon exports and joint development. I hope India plays smart and be honest so Russians earn their proper profits. However, India's heavy industries have been continuously improving for at least two decades now, likely longer. Over time, India will become more proficient at design and manufacturing. Therefore, there is a need for Russia to continue the effort to keep its military R&D in a pack-leading position. Weapon technology exports have always been a security leak risk for all weapon exporters. I hope Russians will balance the trade with India by buying more consumer products from India. I am not sure what can sell well in Russia, but India surely cannot improve its economy by exporting weapons alone.
Looks like the larger trend is for India to shift away from Russian arms to the West though:
South China Morning Post 2 Dec 24: "India, the world’s largest importer of weapons, bought only 36 per cent of its arms imports from Russia last year, down from 76 per cent in 2009"
SCMP's bottom line is:
"India’s move to wean itself off Russian weapons underscores Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to steadily reduce its dependence on Moscow, even as his government continues to buy cheap energy from Russia and provide diplomatic support to Vladimir Putin. India at the same time has moved closer into the US defence orbit, providing an anchor for the relationship just as Donald Trump comes into office threatening higher tariffs."
India is now emerging as one of the biggest threats to the US hegemony.
Most of the knives and swords cut both ways. Russia had some really bad experiences with China in weapon exports and joint development. I hope India plays smart and be honest so Russians earn their proper profits. However, India's heavy industries have been continuously improving for at least two decades now, likely longer. Over time, India will become more proficient at design and manufacturing. Therefore, there is a need for Russia to continue the effort to keep its military R&D in a pack-leading position. Weapon technology exports have always been a security leak risk for all weapon exporters. I hope Russians will balance the trade with India by buying more consumer products from India. I am not sure what can sell well in Russia, but India surely cannot improve its economy by exporting weapons alone.
Looks like the larger trend is for India to shift away from Russian arms to the West though:
South China Morning Post 2 Dec 24: "India, the world’s largest importer of weapons, bought only 36 per cent of its arms imports from Russia last year, down from 76 per cent in 2009"
SCMP's bottom line is:
"India’s move to wean itself off Russian weapons underscores Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to steadily reduce its dependence on Moscow, even as his government continues to buy cheap energy from Russia and provide diplomatic support to Vladimir Putin. India at the same time has moved closer into the US defence orbit, providing an anchor for the relationship just as Donald Trump comes into office threatening higher tariffs."
https://archive.ph/JsPmL#selection-1151.0-1151.144
India wants to maintain a balance. And the self-sufficiency rate is gradually increasing as well, this is particularly so for army equipment.
Yes, and I suppose it's harder and harder to get deliveries from Russia given the Ukraine War.