India And Russia Are Rewriting Their Defense Partnership – Analysis

Key Takeaways:

After the Sept. 12–13 BRICS summit in New Delhi and Army Chief Gen. Dhiraj Seth’s first Russia visit by a top Indian commander in eight years, the article says the old buyer–seller model is giving way to tech-sharing and production in India.
Russian-origin kit still anchors much of India’s army, and Moscow still hopes to sell Su-57s, but Peskov says local manufacture is under negotiation; India now claims about 65% of hardware is made at home and is also buying from the U.S., France, and Italy.
Possible next steps include further BrahMos work, a Rosoboronexport offer to co-produce T-90MS tanks, and the Feb. 2025 RELOS logistics pact (troops, ships, and aircraft on each other’s soil). The author argues Ukraine’s strain on Russia leaves India freer to set terms—and perhaps even supply Moscow later.

Asia’s oldest defense relationship is changing, with India and Russia moving beyond traditional arms sales toward greater technology sharing and joint production. For decades, the partnership has been built around Russian military hardware, but India’s growing defense capabilities are now reshaping the balance between the two countries.

During the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a wide range of issues. In addition to political, economic, and energy ties, reports indicate that defense cooperation was also on the agenda.

Coincidentally or not, just days after their meeting, Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth traveled to Russia for an official tour — marking the first such journey by a top military leader from New Delhi in eight years. India has traditionally been a major buyer of Russian military equipment, which is why Moscow hopes to sustain this one-sided purchasing relationship.

From infantry rifles and armored transports to heavy tanks and missile defense nodes, Russian weapons form the bedrock of India’s ground forces. India’s frontline armored and mechanized units are practically defined by their Russian-designed equipment. That reality, however, is beginning to look very different.

While Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russia’s plans to supply India with the Su-57 fifth-generation multirole fighter, he emphasized that local manufacturing remains a point of negotiations. Historically, India was Russia’s largest weapons customer, importing finished military hardware straight from Russian factories. But now, a major portion of the Indian military’s flagship Russian-origin platforms are built right on Indian soil through licensed production and joint ventures.

“Every country, when producing new complex machines, wants to keep those technologies to itself. However, to strengthen the strategic partnership with New Delhi, the Russian side might share them,” Peskov suggested.

In other words, to maintain good military ties with India, Russia might have to make significant concessions to its partner, as New Delhi is no longer interested in purely commercial transactions and insists that any new contract include robust technology-sharing guarantees. In addition to developing closer military ties with Russia, India is also actively strengthening its own defense capabilities.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, New Delhi continues to maintain close military ties with Moscow while steadily diversifying its defense imports in an effort to reduce its reliance on Russia. At the same time, India is placing greater emphasis on strengthening its domestic defense industry and expanding defense partnerships with Western countries, particularly the United States, France, and Italy.

Indian government estimates that roughly 65 percent of the country’s military hardware is now produced domestically, marking a major reversal from a decade ago, when approximately two-thirds of its military hardware was imported.

Thus, Russia’s mounting losses in Ukraine, combined with the rapid expansion of India’s military-industrial complex, could ultimately turn the two countries’ defense relationship on its head, with Moscow potentially looking to New Delhi not only as a customer, but also as a supplier of military equipment. In the meantime, the two countries are expected to expand their military cooperation, particularly in the area of joint production.

Future Options for India-Russia Military Collaboration

Looking ahead, Russia and India could deepen their work on missile development, particularly through further upgrades to the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Developed jointly by the two countries, BrahMos is derived from Russia’s P-800 Oniks missile family, specifically its export variant, the Yakhont. Over the past 25 years, however, India has introduced numerous modifications and upgrades to BrahMos, giving the missile capabilities that distinguish it from its Russian predecessor. International experts argue that further modernization will nevertheless be necessary to keep pace with increasingly advanced air defense systems.

There is also room for deeper collaboration in the field of armored vehicles. In July, Russia’s state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, offered India the opportunity to jointly produce the advanced T-90MS main battle tank. The proposal would represent an extension of an existing production arrangement, under which India already builds the vast majority of its T-90S tanks domestically, using a combination of locally manufactured and Russian-supplied components. However, as the Ukraine war has shown, in the era of drones, tanks are no longer the undisputed kings of the battlefield. Even Russian military experts argue that drones have made tanks and other armored vehicles unnecessary for both offensive and defensive operations. Therefore, it remains unclear whether India will be willing to invest heavily in expanding its fleet of conventional armored vehicles, particularly if the focus of its military modernization continues to shift toward newer technologies.

The broader trend, however, is clear: India and Russia are moving away from straightforward arms sales and toward jointly developing and producing military equipment in India. But the shift is not limited to weapons production. In February 2025, Moscow and New Delhi signed the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics (RELOS) agreement allowing each country to have up to 3,000 troops, five warships, and 10 military aircraft present on the other’s territory at any one time, while also providing for services such as refueling, repairs, maintenance, and supplies.

Russia’s heavy naval losses during the war in Ukraine could significantly affect RELOS. Unable to maintain its own ships, Moscow could potentially seek assistance from India under the RELOS agreement.

Taken together, these developments put India in a stronger position in its defense partnership with Russia. As its own defense industry grows and Moscow faces increasing pressure from the war in Ukraine, New Delhi now has more room to shape the relationship on its own terms.