Russia may start S-400 missiles supplies to India in 2020

(Sputnik) - All technical and economic aspects of the contracts with India on the delivery of S-400 air defense systems and Project 11356 frigates have been coordinated, Russia is hoping to sign both contracts in October, Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Dmitry Shugaev told Sputnik.

"As for the S-400, we have already prepared everything to sign this contract. All the main technical and commercial aspects have been agreed upon, and I think that we are close to making this happen. We hope to sign both contracts with our Indian partners by the end of the year," Shugaev said adding that October would be perfect for that as the Russian-Indian summit takes place at that time.

The Russian defense cooperation chief also said that Moscow had reduced the final price of S-400 systems for New Delhi taking into consideration the strategic partnership between Russia and India.

"India is a strategic partner for us, so we took into account the wishes of our partners, and made certain concessions," Shugaev, answering the question about whether the price for the S-400 during the negotiations was significantly reduced.

According to open sources, the contract for the supply of S-400 systems to India was initially worth about $6.5 billion.
India may start receiving its first Russian-made S-400 air defense systems in 2020, if the contract on the deliveries is signed this year, Shugaev said.

"As for India, if we sign the deal until the end of this year, I think, the deliveries will be possible in 2020," Shugaev said.

 The intergovernmental agreement on the supply the S-400 systems was reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi in October 2016.

The S-400 Triumf system is a next-generation mobile air defense system, which is capable of destroying aerial targets at an extremely long range of up to 400 kilometers (almost 250 miles).
5th Generation Fighter
The Russian-Indian project to jointly design a fifth generation fighter jet has been frozen, but there is a possibility to resume the talks on the issue in the future, Dmitry Shugaev said.

"It is frozen for now. But we hope that we will return to the dialogue on the fifth generation fighter," Shugaev said.

The Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project is part of India's current government policy Make in India. On the Russian side, the developer is the JSC Sukhoi Company, the Indian side is represented by the Hindustan Aeronautics.
Orion-E Drones
A Middle Eastern country has requested purchase of the Russian-made long-endurance reconnaissance drones Orion-E, Shugaev told said in an interview.
"Our foreign clients are very interested in this drone, by the way, we have already received the first request from one Middle Eastern country.

AK-100 Series Assault Rifles
Russia does not rule out sales of AK-100 series assault rifles, produced in India after opening joint venture, to third countries, Dmitry Shugaev said.

"We are ready to work with either state-owned or private company chosen by India. We are absolutely sure that it is practical to meet the demand for such assault rifles through joint venture. This will not allow producing this type of small arms in quantities necessary for India in the short term, but also selling these modern weapons to third countries. Such possibility is not ruled out," Shugaev said.

Russian-Indian BrahMos Missiles
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) wants to buy BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, produced jointly by Russia and India, but the decision on supplies would be taken by Moscow and New Delhi after receiving a firm request, Dmitry Shugaev said.

"At the moment, the issue of supplying production of this company to third countries on the agenda, therefore we will make a joint decision once there is a firm request. The UAE is among potential buyers, but I cannot say that something is being implemented now as there is no firm request," Shugaev said.