The Indian Air Force mostly consists of Soviet and Russian-made aircraft, which require scheduled repair and modernization. Previously, all components for aircraft and helicopters were supplied directly by Rosoboronexport, but recently India has had serious claims against the Russian company. At the moment, India is actively looking for companies on the world market that can replace Rosoboronexport and ensure the supply of spare parts for aircraft bypassing Russia.
It should be noted that India has enough claims and their desire is understandable. The supply of spare parts by Rosoboronexport is carried out without a clear schedule and irregularly. Thus, the Indian Air Force stated that there were several interruptions in the supply of components for the IL-78MKI tanker aircraft. This did not suit the Indians so much that they announced a new tender for the purchase of tankers for their Air Force. In particular, the Airbus A330MRTT is taking part in the tender, which in the end may well replace the Russian IL-78MKI.
Also, the Indian side is unhappy with the extremely confused and unpredictable position of Rosoboronexport on a number of issues. The Russian state-owned company regularly requires the conclusion of additional contracts, and sometimes asks for a complete revision of previously concluded agreements, including an increase in the price of spare parts and components.
However, India has been accustomed to such work with Russian companies since the days of the USSR, but then the Soviet Union was forgiven a lot. Now, the Russians are expected to have modern and high-quality cooperation, which Rosoboronexport apparently either cannot organize or deliberately does not want. Naturally, India is unhappy with this, since interruptions in the supply of spare parts for its air force directly affect the country's defense capability.
At the moment, India has opened 25 international (previously all lots were supplied by Rosoboronexport) tenders for the supply of spare parts for aviation. The most popular are components for MiG-29 fighters. In connection with their modernization, the Indian side needs more than 150 items of components, including steering and main chassis, various transformers and resistors, and much more. There is also a need for spare parts for the Su-30MKI, Mi-17 and Mi-26 helicopters and a number of Soviet-made radar stations.
So, apparently, Rosoboronexport, due to its sluggishness and unprofessionalism, may soon lose the after-sales service market for military equipment in India, and this may be followed by India's complete refusal to buy Russian weapons. It is obvious that the Russian military-industrial complex and Rosoboronexport need urgent and radical reforms, since in its current state it is unable to compete on the world market, and in some cases even within the country. Suffice it to recall the recent words of the commander-in-chief of the Ground Forces, Alexander Postnikov, about the T-90 tank, which, instead of a desire to change something for the better, caused only an angry reaction from the public and representatives of the military-industrial complex. The time is ripe for change, and to turn a blind eye to this, to think that everything is in order, is simply stupid.
