New Delhi: India and the US may have signed key pacts during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Washington DC but the Indian armed forces still rely largely on the lethality of Russian-origin equipment to remain battle-ready.

From New Delhi’s point of view, there is no pro-American shift or ‘moving away’ from Russia, its longstanding ally. “Historically, technology transfer, has been done by the Russians. With the US, we are buyers,” says a senior official.

In the past 60 years, India has licence-produced military equipment of Russian or Soviet parentage. This includes T-90 tanks and Sukhoi Su-30MKI jets. India and Russia co-produced the BrahMos missile that is now being exported. Also, the AK-203 rifle is co-produced in India.

Moscow guided New Delhi’s atomic energy engineers on miniaturising a nuclear reactor that would power in Indian nuclear submarine INS Arihant. Russia converted a warship into a 45,000-tonne aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and supplied the S400 air-defence missile system to India.

New Delhi was officially ‘non-aligned’ during the Cold War (1945-1991) while still being an ally of the Soviet Union. The two had signed the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation in August 1971.

Today, almost all frontline Indian Navy warships carry BrahMos that can reach targets 300 km away. The missile, in case of adversity, would be the likely weapon of choice for land-based commanders. And after India was inducted into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the missile range has been extended.

India has twice leased a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia, first in the 1980s and again in 2012.

The relationship goes deep. Sweden-based think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its annual report in March this year said India was the largest importer of weapons in the world and Russia its largest supplier for more than 30 years.

New Delhi has diplomatically dodged US’ Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which imposes curbs on nations with “significant” defence relations with Russia.

Besides Mi-17 helicopters and MiG-29 fighter jets, the IAF uses transport fleet of IL-76 and AN-32 to deliver tonnes of material to forward bases in the Himalayas.

From the US, India sourced planes such as the special operations C-17 and C-130J, and P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The American helicopters in its fleet include Apache, Chinook and submarine-hunting MH-60R. However, there was no transfer of technology. The Indian Army also uses US-origin M777 howitzer.

Russia’s influence in India comes through its willingness to provide weapons systems and technologies that no other country will export to India, says a functionary.

(With Inputs From Agencies)