By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — India has lined up several big-ticket defense projects for discussion between its prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit meeting in Goa next month, according to a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official.
The projects include the purchase of S-400 air defense systems worth $6 billion; finalization of the long-pending joint development of fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) worth more than $20 billion; leasing of a second nuclear-powered submarine worth more than $1 billion; and acquisition of $4 billion worth of stealth frigates to replace the Indian Navy’s Russian-built Rajput-class warships.
The MoD official said that the defense projects, most of which are already at the negotiating stage, were discussed at the 16th India-Russia Military Technical Cooperation Working Group meeting that took place Sept. 7-8 in New Delhi.
It’s likely that some of them could get the "final go ahead" during the Modi-Putin meeting, the official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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