Given the expanding threats in various domains and challenges across different geographical fronts, the Indian armed forces need to maintain a delicate balance between upgrading legacy systems for operational readiness and progressively integrating high-tech capabilities. This requires India to navigate a complex defence landscape, balancing its legacy dependence on Russian equipment with a strategic pivot towards high-tech defence systems, primarily from the United States (US), all the while fostering self-reliance through ‘Make in India’. Russia’s industrial limitations, exacerbated by its war in Ukraine and deepening ties with China, undermines its reliability as India’s primary defence supplier. As India advances its ‘Make in India’ policy through technology transfers and co-production agreements, it must pivot towards the US for both strategic and commercial reasons. To ensure long-term security and build a resilient defence industrial base (DIB), India must leverage friendshoring with the US to access advanced technologies and sustain its defence modernisation by navigating existing challenges in the partnership.
Balancing Legacy and Innovation: Russia, US and India’s Defence Procurement Policies – MP-IDSA
