India to push back on $1 billion Russian helicopter deal
India won’t go ahead with building Russian helicopters locally under a $1 billion deal when President Vladimir Putin visits New Delhi next week, according to senior government officials with knowledge of the matter, complicating plans to modernize the world’s third-largest military force.
Instead, there might be off-the-shelf purchases of some of the Ka-226T military choppers as the Indian Air Force needs to make immediate replacements to its fleet of over 320 ageing helicopters. The military is currently fortifying its western and northern borders as tensions with China fester.
India initially inked the deal in 2015 with the Russians for 200 of the Kamov twin-engine utility helicopters. Of this, 60 choppers were to be imported and the remaining would be manufactured locally under a venture between the Bengaluru defence public sector unit,
