Russia says BrahMos upgrades, new defence projects on Putin-Modi agenda; Indians serving in army to return

Russia and India are looking at upgrading jointly produced BrahMos missiles and adding new capabilities to make them more effective and competitive, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, September 8, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit.

Speaking to Indian media in a virtual interaction, Peskov said defence cooperation would be an important part of Putin’s discussions in India, describing the military-technical relationship between the two

countries as “very rich” and “rooted”.

“We went further than just selling and buying,” Peskov said, pointing to the joint production of BrahMos missiles and other weapons systems.

He said it was now time to consider improving the missiles by adding “some additional characteristics” to make them more competitive.

“I would like to assure you that we have lots of issues to be discussed in this context and all these issues will be very highly on the agenda during the visit,” Peskov said.

India and Russia’s defence relationship has evolved from a buyer-seller arrangement to joint research, development and production.

BrahMos, jointly developed by India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, is among the flagship projects of the partnership. The two countries’ 2021-2031 military-technical cooperation framework also focuses on joint R&D and production.

Peskov said defence cooperation was a “very sensitive sphere” and that Moscow would not discuss all details publicly.

Indian nationals in Russian army

On Indian nationals recruited into the Russian military, Peskov said Moscow was working on identifying those still serving on the battlefield and would facilitate their return to India.

“This has been brought to attention by Indian side multiple time,” he said, adding that a list of Indian citizens on the battlefield was being prepared and they would be sent back home.

New Delhi has repeatedly raised the issue with Moscow and sought the discharge and return of Indian nationals serving in the Russian military.