Yet another one from Jeff M Smith....
https://twitter.com/Cold_Peace_/status/ ... 27043?s=20 ----> Not ideal. But not a surprise to anyone that's done any work on India. I'm resigned to the fact we're probably not ever going to be able to dictate who India can buy arms from. Just as India can't dictate who we sell arms to. Trying to do so will only create unnecessary friction.
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86 per cent of Indian military equipment of Russian origin: Stimson Center paper
https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... r-6517136/
22 July 2020
The dependence is likely to continue because more than 55% of Indian defence imports since 2014 have been from Russia.
https://twitter.com/SushantSin/status/1 ... 60480?s=20 ----> Among all the talk of India-US defence cooperation, the fact remains that 86% of military equipment in service with the Indian armed forces is of Russian origin. And it is not ending soon as 55% of defence imports since 2014 have been from Russia. I report...
https://twitter.com/SushantSin/status/1 ... 94595?s=20 ---> Data from a new Stimson Center working paper by @splalwani @frank11285 et al shows that 41% of Indian Navy's and two-thirds of the IAF’s equipment is of Russian origin. While the figure for the Army is a whopping 90%. The data is based on nearly 10,000 major pieces of equipment.
https://twitter.com/SushantSin/status/1 ... 28384?s=20 ---> "Because this dependence will endure for decades due to the long lifespan of these systems, an enhanced US-India strategic cooperation will have to figure out ways to work around this, ranging from policies (like CAATSA) to military interoperability”: @splalwani
https://twitter.com/SushantSin/status/1 ... 63424?s=20 ---> This doesn't mean that there is no US military equipment in service, but it is lesser in quantity compared to the Russian-origin equipment. Apache and Chinook helicopters, M777 howitzer guns, C-17 and C-130J air lifters, P-8I submarine hunters are some of the major US platforms.
https://twitter.com/SushantSin/status/1 ... 60194?s=20 ---> Navy’s only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and its only nuclear attack submarine, Chakra II, are from Russia. Army's MBT T-90, IAF's mainstay Su30 MKI fighter aircraft, only nuclear-capable supersonic cruise missile Brahmos... S400 on its way, the list of Russian stuff is long.
https://twitter.com/SushantSin/status/1 ... 45760?s=20 ---> Even after the BJP government came to power in 2014, Russia continues to occupy the prime position as India’s defence supplier, with US$9.3 billion worth of exports to India. The US trails a distant second, with defence supplies worth US$2.3 billion to India in the same period.
https://twitter.com/SushantSin/status/1 ... 51907?s=20 ---> [N/N] Bottomline: India has diversified its defence imports but Russia remains the pre-eminent supplier of military equipment. The dependency continues even now, and these systems will be in military service for decades. It has real, serious implications for defence cooperation.