NOVOSIBIRSK. May 22 (Interfax) - Russia and India are discussing the parameters of a project that will allow India to acquire 197 Russian Kamov Ka-226T helicopters, Indian Ambassador to Russia Pundi Srinivasan Raghavan has told a press conference at the Interfax-Siberia press center.
"As I was on my way to this press conference, I received a phone call from India and we discussed the negotiations that are being held as part of this project. We cannot say today when exactly this contract will be signed because the Russian side first needs to prepare a business plan and agree upon all technical parameters. But we know that it will be a bilateral Russian-Indian project," the diplomat said.
In May, India's Defense Acquisition Council, chaired by Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, agreed to allocate $3.8 billion to fund acquisitions of new military hardware, including 197 Ka-226T multirole helicopters from Russia.
The Indian Defense Acquisition Council decided to spend approximately $470 million on this project, during which Ka-226 helicopters will be produced in India jointly with Russia.
Russia's Kamov Design Bureau earlier won India's tender, in which Europe's Airbus Helicopters took part as well.
This topic was also discussed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who agreed that such a joint venture would be able to build up to 500 helicopters a year and export some of them to third-party countries.
The Ka-226 lightweight multirole helicopter is able to carry up to one tonne of cargo and personnel and has a flight range of up to 450 kilometers.