Rosoboronexport is planning to tender a contract from the Indian Defence Ministry to supply the Indian army with light tanks and future infantry combat vehicles (FICV), chief executive Alexander Mikheev told journalists on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2023.
“We plan, together with Indian partners, to submit a light tank and a promising infantry fighting vehicle to the tender of the Indian Ministry of Defence as part of the FICV project, which will fully comply with the Make in India program,” Mikheev stated.
The Rosoboronexport CEO underscored that Moscow fully understood India’s desire to develop its own defence industry and achieve “technological sovereignty” in the sphere of manufacturing.
“I can say that Rosoboronexport began working with Indian enterprises under conditions similar to the requirements of ‘Make in India’ way before the policy was announced (by Prime Minister Narendra Modi),” asserted Mikheev.
He recalled that the two nations have been involved in joint development and co-production of many successful arms and aviation systems, including Su-30MKI fighters, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles and the Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles.
JSC Rosoboronexport is Russia’s premier state agency involved in export of defence products and technologies.
Accounting for over 85 percent of Russia’s arms exports, the company has a presence in over 100 countries.
Russia is currently India's top defence supplier, accounting for nearly 45 percent of New Delhi's overall military imports between 2017-2022, according to Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace and Research Institute (SIPRI).