NEW DELHI: India and Russia have agreed to manufacture 400 light utility helicopters to meet critical armed forces’ requirement for the rotary wing aircraft fleet of the country.
According to a conservative estimate, Indian armed forces have a requirement of around 1,000 such choppers. Normally, light utility helicopters are meant for ration supply and casualty evacuation in high altitude operations and some of these choppers are also used for surveillance and patrolling purpose.The Russian Kamov-226T twin-engined helicopter will be assembled in India. The decision was taken during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with the Prime minister Narendra Modi here on Thursday.The deal is important for New Delhi to upgrade a military that relies on outdated Soviet equipment and build India’s defence production capacity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. He said that Russia will remain India’s top defence supplier, even though New Delhi’s options had improved since the end of the Cold War. India agreed to assemble 400 Russian multi-role helicopters a year.
The two leaders declared ing that India’s relationship with Russia was “incomparable” and Modi said that Moscow would remain its “most important defence partner”.