Several Russian weapon parts stand out in India’s new list of 107 defence items published on Thursday that will attract a phased import ban between December 2022 and December 2028, with the indigenisation drive covering warships, helicopters, tanks, infantry combat vehicles, missiles, ammunition and radars, officials familiar with the matter said.
The list, a fresh push to self-reliance in defence, has been released by the defence ministry at a time when the global backlash against Russia over its Ukraine invasion has raised questions about the fate of new projects with that country, procurement of spares for existing Russian-origin weapons, and maintenance and servicing of legacy equipment operated by the three services.
The list includes sub-systems that India imports from Russia for weapons and platforms including T-90 and T-72 tanks, BMP-II infantry combat vehicles, warships and submarines, and anti-tank missiles.
“These 107 strategically important line replacement units (LRUs)/sub-systems will be indigenised in the coming years and will only be procured from Indian industry after the timelines indicated against each of them in the list,” the defence ministry said in a statement.These components are currently imported by defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, several public shipyards, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, and Munitions India Limited.
The items that are sought be made in the country over the next six years are required for the advanced light helicopter, the light combat helicopter, the light utility helicopter, a variety of warships, tanks, electronic warfare systems, Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, Konkurs-M anti-tank missiles, armoured recovery vehicles, smart ammunition, 70mm rockets, bombs and drone-delivered ammunition.
Last December, the defence ministry released a list of 2851 sub-systems and components which will come under import embargo under a specific timeline.Some of the components and sub-systems identified for import embargo in the fresh list are used for construction of indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), electronic warfare system, Astra missile, T-90 tanks and infantry combat vehicles.The list released by the Defence Ministry comprised 22 items that will be taken up for indigenisation by the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) while Bharat Electronics Ltd will indigenise 21 sub-systems.
The government has specified the deadlines for the proposed indigenisation. For instance, the 23 components (in the list) for tanks and infantry combat vehicles have to be indigenised in phases by December 2025 and the 22 LRUs/sub-systems for different types of helicopters by December 2027.
