NEW DELHI, February 28. /TASS/. India is ready to cooperate in the military-technical sphere with various parties, but Russia has strong positions in this market and good opportunities for successful competition, Russian Ambassador to New Delhi Denis Alipov told News18.
According to him, India is interested in the Make In India program and is focused on the equipment being produced domestically. "For this, India is ready to cooperate with all parties, including Russia. The Indian market is very commercially promising. Prior to the launch of Make in India, joint production and transfer of technology was done with Russia. We have a very solid presence in this market and are prepared to compete. We have very strong positions in the Indian markets," the envoy said.
"India is free to buy defense equipment and weapons from other suppliers as well. It is clear that US equipment is considerably more expensive than Russian products. The ongoing conflict has shown the exceptional quality of our products, including planes, unmanned aerial vehicles and much more, while the prices are significantly lower," he added.
The envoy earlier noted in an interview with TASS that systems of Russian or Soviet design account for more than 50% of India’s weaponry and up to 90% in some sectors. Among the most successful joint ventures is the production of BrahMos advanced supersonic cruise missiles that started in 1998. A range of third countries show great interest in them. Work continues to create a hypersonic modification. Nearly 1,000 licensed T-90 tanks and 300 Su-30MKI planes have been assembled in India, with localization ranging from 70 to 90% The Indo-Russia Rifles joint venture is manufacturing AK-203 submachine guns.
According to the Russian diplomat, the two countries are also strengthening dialogue in the areas of logistics and maintenance, research and development, producing aircraft engines, new Su-30 batches, and signing contracts for long-range radars.