The licensed production of T-90S tanks in India risks becoming a problem for Russia, as it reduces the republic's need to purchase finished combat vehicles. This opinion was expressed by observer Peter Suciu in an article for The National Interest.
He recalled that India is the largest foreign operator of the T-90. Initially, the country purchased finished tanks, but then switched to assembling them under license on its own territory.
Approximately two decades later, this process was almost complete, and India's need for tanks supplied from Russia sharply decreased.
Some of the vehicles were assembled from kits supplied by the Russian side. However, Russia is now forced to look for new markets for the T-90, Suciu emphasized.
Recall that in 2001, Russia and India concluded a contract for the supply of 310 T-90S tanks, and in 2006, signed an agreement on licensed assembly of 1000 vehicles of this type.
Ivan Grachev, a researcher at the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that Russia earned 6 billion dollars from T-90S supplies to India throughout their cooperation.
