Putin's Brics visit: Su-57, Super Sukhois fighter jets, S-500 on Russia’s defence offer list
Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting New Delhi to propose major defense deals, including the joint production of Su-57 fighter jets and upgrades to India's Su-30MKI fleet. Russia is also pushing for the sale of advanced air-defense systems like the S-500.
Why it matters
These potential defense agreements represent a significant shift in military procurement and strategic partnerships for India.
NEW DELHI: With Russian President Vladimir Putin landing in New Delhi on Friday, Moscow has come up with a list of defence proposals for India, including joint production of Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets and over $11-billion upgrade of the Su-30MKI fleet into “Super Sukhois”. In Friday’s talks with Putin, PM Modi said that besides discussions on various topics like trade, infrastructure, energy, technology, there were talks about defence too.During Putin’s three-day stay, Russia is going to have wide-ranging defence talks about these defence proposals. Besides Su-57 jet and Su-30MKI upgrade offers, the Russian side is expected to “push for proposals for additional S-400 air-defence systems, Pantsir-S1M point-defence system, radars and strategic submarines”, defence sources told TOI. Russia has also been pushing India to consider its S-500 air-defence system, an upgraded version which can target missiles across a range of 600 km as compared to S-400's 400-km limit.
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