Chief of Air Staff to visit Russia

On Jul 8, 2019

NPnews24 Online New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa PVSM AVSM YSM VM ADC, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Air Staff will soon be embarking on a bilateral goodwill visit to Russia from July 9 to 12.

Dhanoa is scheduled to visit various operational and training units as well as fly a sortie in the Russian Trainer aircraft YAK-130.

The chief of Air Staff will interact with senior functionaries of the Russian armed forces amongst others.
The visit would provide further impetus towards defence cooperation as well as strengthen relationships and enable engagement in productive exchanges between the two air forces.

Earlier, during the G-20 Summit in Osaka, Russia, India, and China held a trilateral meeting. India and Russia have shared good relationship since 1947 when Russia helped India realise its goal of economic self-sufficiency through investment in heavy machine-building, mining, energy production and steel plants.

The relations further strengthened when India and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1971.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, India and Russia entered into a new Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1993 and a bilateral Military-Technical Cooperation agreement in 1994.
Despite expanding its defence purchases from the US, Israel and Europe, India still needs to collaborate with Russia to master future technology including for space.

After its power push in Ukraine, India emerged as an alternate market for Russia to bypass Western sanctions. India has also decided to press ahead with the procurement of S-400 Triumf advanced Air Defense system from Russia, defying America’s Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).