Rajnath, Belousov hold talks

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart, Andrei Belousov reviewed India-Russia defence ties on Thursday, a day before the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin. The two ministers co-chaired the 22nd India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) ministerial meeting.

In an effort to further enhance operational capabilities of the armed forces, India is keen to procure more S-400 missile systems, upgrade of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets and purchasing other critical military hardware from Russia. India is also looking at procuring additional batches of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia as the weapons proved to be very effective during Operation Sindoor.

During the talks between the two defence ministers, Rajnath Singh voiced India’s determination for capacity building of its indigenous defence industry. He also stressed on new opportunities for enhancing collaboration between both counties across niche technologies.

The Russian Defence Minister emphasised on deepening relationship between both the countries which is based on mutual trust. He stated that the Russian defence industry is ready to support India towards becoming self-reliant in the field of defence production. Belousov also invited Singh to visit Russia to co-chair the 23rd session of IRIC-M&MTC in 2026.