LUCKNOW, India:(Sputnik) – The Indian Defense Ministry has ordered additional 464 T-90S tanks within the licensed manufacturing program, and Russian enterprises are ready to provide all of the necessary support, an official from Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation told Sputnik on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Denis Manturov, the Russian minister of industry and trade, told Sputnik that Russia and India had signed a deal extending the licensed manufacturing of T-90S tanks until 2028.
“The Indian Defense Ministry placed an order for additional 464 tanks at the Avadi Heavy Vehicles Factory [in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu]. The Russian companies will deliver equipment to the Indian plant for the production of tanks if it is necessary,” the spokesman said on the sidelines of the DefExpo-2020 exhibition in India’s Lucknow.
The agency’s spokesman also expressed hope for India’s return to the fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project, which was put on hold by the Indian side.
“Unfortunately, the project for the joint creation of the promising multirole FGFA fighter jet has not received its proper development and India has put it on hold. In the future, we do not exclude the return of India to this project,” the spokesman said.
The head of the Russian military cooperation agency, Dmitry Shugayev, told Sputnik back in August 2018 that the project of the Russian-Indian cooperation on the FGFA had been frozen, but there was still a possibility of resuming dialogue.
According to the agency, New Delhi previously stated that it would not be interested in this project until the fifth-generation fighter jet was put in service by the Russian Armed Forces.
