Published on: 11.10.2022 – 16:53
After more than seven months of conflict, the Russian army has deployed much of its military equipment. In these conditions, it is very difficult to sell abroad. One country has been particularly affected: India, the world’s largest arms importer and Russia’s largest buyer. New Delhi is seeing its orders delayed, which may jeopardize its own defences.
With our correspondent in India, Sebastian Farcis
From fighter jets to tanks and guns, more than two-thirds of India’s military hardware is of Russian origin.
The war in Ukraine has caused significant delays in the delivery of these devices or spare parts. And it shouldn’t get any better because Russia is short of one class of components: semiconductors.
Pranay Kotasthane is Associate Director of the Takshashila Institution and Director of the New Technologies Geopolitics Program:
All semiconductors used by the Russian military are subject to Western sanctions and Russia cannot produce them. So this concerns deliveries of precision missiles or fighter aircraft equipment to India. This shortage will continue after the end of the war because of the sanctions. Russia can get it either from China or on the black market. However, these two options are not acceptable to the Indian Army. The only solution for India is to diversify its arms suppliers.
The United States, India’s third-largest arms seller, says it is ready to provide New Delhi with €500 million in aid to encourage it to buy more American equipment.
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