Indian army can’t operate effectively sans Russian arms, says US report

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ There has been a considerable drop in India’s dependence on arms and equipment from Russia but the Indian military cannot operate effectively without Russian-supplied equipment and will continue to rely on its weapons systems in the near and middle terms, a US Congressional Research Service report has said.

The report comes ahead of a crucial decision that the Biden administration has to take on India buying military arms from Russia, whether it plans to impose sanctions against the country under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. “Many analysts in India and beyond conclude that the Indian military cannot operate effectively without Russian-supplied equipment and will continue to rely on Russian weapons systems in the near and middle terms,” the independent CRS said in a report Russian arms sales and defense industry.

“As put by one senior American observer, New Delhi’s continuing purchases ‘remain one of the few levers of influence that India still possesses vis-a-vis Moscow.’ In this sense, much of Moscow’s influence in India comes through its willingness to provide weapons systems and technologies that no other country will export to India. Russia also continues to offer advanced weapons platforms at relatively attractive rates,” the CRS said.