New Delhi: Russia’s main armaments export firm and an Indian state-run defence company have signed an agreement to cooperate on jointly developing variants of the Pantsir air defence missile and gun system, a move aimed at bolstering the country’s air defence capabilities.
The MoU was signed by Commodore (retired) A Madhavarao, chairman and managing director of BDL, and German Kovalenko, deputy director general of the naval department of Rosoboronexport, on the sidelines of a meeting of a sub-group of the India-Russia intergovernmental commission for defence cooperation in Goa.
The intergovernmental commission for defence cooperation, which is chaired by the defence ministers of the two countries, is expected to meet soon.
People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the agreement is aimed at jointly developing new variants of the Pantsir system more suited to India’s needs. This follows India’s $5.4-billion deal with Russia in October 2018 for five batteries of the S-400 air defence systems. Russia has so far provided three batteries while deliveries of the remaining two have been delayed because of the war in Ukraine.
