Modi seeks Russian crown jewel in decade’s biggest arms deal

New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Moscow after approving what’s set to be his nation’s biggest weapons deal with Russia since 2001, reaffirming a military partnership that newer suppliers like the US will find difficult to dislodge.

The S-400 air defence missile systems, which India plans to buy, are among the “crown jewels” of Russia’s defence capability, according to Jon Grevatt, Asia-Pacific defence- industry analyst for IHS Jane’s. The two-day visit starting on Wednesday will also include a private dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin and an event at the Kremlin with Russian and Indian chief executives.

“Russia and India have a very strong partnership that the US can only aspire to,” said Grevatt. “Sales from America may ebb and flow, but the sales from Russia will remain strong because there are so many ongoing programmes between the two countries.”

The $150 billion that Modi plans to spend to upgrade his military could be a welcome diversion for Putin, who’s bracing for a second year of recession amid Western sanctions. Although the US emerged as India’s biggest defence supplier last fiscal year, the Asian nation’s links with Russia stretch back to their Soviet-era ties.

Putin hosts Modi in Moscow for the annual bilateral summit after visiting New Delhi last year. The leaders have also displayed a friendly rapport: Putin, who holds a black belt in judo, promised Modi he’d try yoga at a meeting earlier this year.

“The best thing is that he knows how to maintain relations,” Modi said of Putin in an interview with Russia’s state-run TASS news service published Wednesday. “He has a special strength to sacrifice for the relations. It is rarely found,” he said, predicting Russia’s global stature would grow and foster world peace.

Modi arrives on Wednesday evening in time for dinner with Putin. The two leaders hold their summit the following day before meeting with business leaders. Modi is also scheduled to visit Russia’s emergencies ministry and speak at a Friends-of- India event expected to draw 3,000 people before departing Thursday evening.

About $7 billion worth of deals will be agreed during the visit, according to Konstantin Makienko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, which advises Russia’s defence ministry. India would need to purchase the S-400s directly from the Russian government if it wants delivery by 2018, he added.

The US surpassed Russia as India’s top supplier of defence equipment in the three years to March 2014, followed by France and Israel, according to the Indian government, which hasn’t provided more recent figures. However, this doesn’t capture Russian components that India imports to use under license, according to Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

“Russia was the leader in India’s market, now it is one of the leaders,” Makienko said by phone. “Modi’s visit can give a significant boost for Russian exports to India, because Russia is in some way an exclusive supplier, which offers joint production.”

Other potential deals from the trip include:

— Kamov OAO may name an Indian partner to build 200 Ka-226T light military cargo helicopters in India; the deal may be valued at $1 billion, India TV reported

— Lease of a second nuclear-powered attack submarine from Russia. First submarine was leased in 2012 for $1 billion over 10 years

— Indian navy order for three Russian frigate warships. India paid about $1 billion for three Talwar-class frigates in 1997

— Agreement to restart joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, stalled for two years over cost differences. Estimated project value: $10 billion