MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax) - Head of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Dmitry Shugayev has described plans for joint production of Kamov Ka-226T helicopters and Igla-S man-portable air defense missile systems with India as promising.
"The joint production of Ka-226T helicopters and Igla-S man-portable air defense systems can be identified among promising projects," Shugayev told reporters.
The project for the joint production of AK-203 assault rifles can already be called a success, as their serial production was launched in India early this year, he said.
Additionally, India has implemented the BrahMos project, the licensed production of T-90S tanks, Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft, aircraft engines and Mango tank shells and is building Project 11356 frigates at Indian shipyards, Shugayev said.
He said that Russia is willing to cooperate more actively with its partners in carrying out joint projects, "this is primarily the joint development of high-tech military products, setting up joint ventures for the production of military products, building service centers for maintaining the products supplied, and performing mutually beneficial research and development work."
"Many countries are interested in setting up production of Russian weapons and military hardware in their territory. In turn, Russia is fully ready to provide these countries with everything they need to solve this problem," the FSMTC head said.
As previously reported, Russia won the Indian tender for the licensed production of Igla-S man-portable air defense missile systems in 2018. In September 2021, Shugayev said, "Talks are at their final stage and a draft contract has been practically agreed upon."
It was also reported that an intergovernmental agreement between Russia and India on cooperation in helicopter building was signed in 2015. However, the contract for the delivery and joint production of 200 Ka-226T helicopters worth $1 billion for India has not been concluded yet. The FSMTC said that talks were delayed due to the controversy over the level of localization of production.