Russia-India military drills to be held in Far East next year
November 26, 2015, 7:38 am

India’s Foreign Minister has said the two countries will now engage in joint military production.[PPIO]

“For the first time, the joint Russian-Indian drills Indra-2016 are planned to be conducted at the Sergeyevsky firing range in Primorye. The Eastern Military District will second an all-arms formation deployed in Primorye,” he said.

The Indo-Russian military exercise ‘INDRA-2015’ culminated earlier this month in the western Indian state of Rajasthan after nearly two weeks of joint training in counter-terrorism operations.

Experts say this reflects the deepened military cooperation between the two sides.

Troops of Russian Eastern Military District will also take part Russia-China Joint Sea naval drills next year.

Russia is in talks with India about the possibility of concluding a contract to supply the latest Russian T-90MS battle tanks, a representative of Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) machine building company said in September.

There is currently a contract in place between Moscow and New Delhi for the licensed production of T-90S tanks in India. Russia’s military partnership with India is also boosted by the upcoming $11 billion contract for the joint design and development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) program.

Russia remains the world’s second biggest seller of arms behind the United States, increasing its share by 37 per cent in 2010-2014.

Russian weapons were exported to 56 countries, with India, China and Algeria making for almost 60 per cent of total sales, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its 2015 Yearbook released in March.

Russia-India ties are expected to receive a significant boost by twin visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia. Modi attended the 7th BRICS Summit in the russian city of Ufa in July and is scheduled to hold talks with Russian President Putin in Moscow in December.

TBP and Agencies