US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said India’s military purchases from Russia had “rubbed the United States the wrong way” while speaking at the eighth edition of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit.
“There were certain things that the Indian government did that generally rubbed the US the wrong way… for instance, you generally buy your military gear from Russia. That’s a way to kind of get under the skin of America, if you go to buy your armaments from Russia,” Lutnick said.
The commerce secretary’s understanding of the India-Russia relationship is limited. India buys Russian weapons because Russia does not attach strings to these sales. It willingly shares technology and co-produces weapons with India and allows technology transfers in areas no country will collaborate with.
THE SOVIET UNION SOLD WEAPONS NO ONE ELSE DID
When India began its rearmament in the mid-1960s after the defeat in the 1962 war with China, it first turned to the West. It wanted submarines and warships for the Navy and fighter jets for the Air Force. These were not offered.
The Soviet Union stepped in with sales of frontline Foxtrot class submarines, first-of-its-class missile boats, anti-submarine corvettes and MiG-21 supersonic fighter aircraft. These platforms were used with devastating effect in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The US, UK and China supported Pakistan in that war.
The Soviet Union sent its submarines in pursuit of the USS Enterprise carrier battle group that President Nixon sent into the Indian Ocean to intimidate India. This relationship continued through the 1980s. In 1987, the Soviet Union transferred to India on a three-year lease the K-43, the world’s first nuclear-powered attack submarine that could fire anti-ship missiles from underwater.
RUSSIA CONTINUES THE SOVIET LEGACY
This strategic partnership continued after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The successor state, Russia, sold to India the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles in the late 1990s. This weapon now equips all three services and was used with devastating effect during Operation Sindoor in smashing Pakistani airbases and radar installations. Russia has shared all the technology for this radical missile it developed during the Cold War.
It leased a second nuclear submarine, the Chakra-2, in 2012. It is refurbishing a third unit, the Chakra-3, which will be transferred to India on a ten-year lease by the end of this decade. Sure, Russia charges a hefty fee for this refurbishment and lease – over $3 billion – but with the exception of the US-UK partnership, no country has sold or transferred nuclear-powered submarine technology to another country. It has offered India advanced hypersonic weaponry and long-range missile systems and fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
SUPPORT FOR STRATEGIC WEAPONS PROGRAMMES
Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines are the third leg of the triad of air, land and sea-based nuclear weapons. They are also the most secure leg of the triad because submarines can hide deep under the ocean beyond the reach of the enemy.
Russia helped India build its fleet of four Arihant class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. India began constructing these submarines after the Pokharan nuclear tests in 1998. Today, two Arihant-class submarines have been commissioned and two more will be commissioned in the next four years.
These are the most complex defence platforms ever built by India. Then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged Russia’s support for the programme while speaking at the 2009 launch of the INS Arihant in Visakhapatnam.
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
This is among the most important aspects of the relationship. The US imposed sanctions and embargoed the sale of military equipment to India because of the Pokharan-2 nuclear tests in 1998. President Donald Trump spoke of using trade as a tool to coerce India into negotiating a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor (a fact denied by India).
This has led to fears that the sales of US weapons to India could be similarly used in a crisis. Russia has never attached such strings to its weapons sales to India. It has never imposed embargoes or restricted transfers of weapons.
RELATIONSHIP LIMITED ONLY BY IMAGINATION
The sky is the limit when it comes to the Russia-India strategic partnership. Russia has provided technical assistance for India’s Matsyayan ocean bed expedition that aims to send Indians to the deepest point of the Indian Ocean.
It has also provided help for the Gaganyaan expedition, which aims to launch India’s first astronauts in an Indian-built space vehicle. The India-Russia relationship is limited only by the imagination of the two partner countries.