India and Russia signed a variety of defence agreements when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India recently. Russia won the contract to supply S-400 Air defence Systems to India besides the naval frigates. Now Russia and its man-portable air defence system Igla won a tender in India to deliver $1.5 billion worth of short-range air defence systems, according to Sputnik News.
“Yes, our Igla won [the tender],” the source confirmed. There have been no comments from the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) on this issue so far.
Igla is a man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile defence system manufactured by research and production corporation Konstruktorskoye Byuro Mashynostroyeniya (KBM). The system is intended to target various types approaching and receding aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles round the clock when they are visually observed against clutter background and in infrared countermeasure environment.
Image Courtesy: Reuters
The FSMTC did not specify the parameters of the contracts, however, according to unofficial data, the contract for the supply of two ready-made ships is about $950 million.
The statement was made on Monday, citing its sources, that Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport had emerged as the lowest bidder in the Indian tender to procure a batch of short-range air defence systems. Swedish manufacturer SAAB and French MBDA were other contenders for the deal.
