Russian weapons still competitive on Indian market - official
BANGALORE, India. Feb 5 (Interfax-AVN) - Alexander Fomin, director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation, has explained Russia's loss of a series of major weapons tenders announced by India by increased competition, not the allegedly deteriorating quality of Russian-made military products.
"Has it happened because of quality? My answer is a firm no. Indeed, we have problems with quality. We are not denying that. But our key rivals have them as well. They are absolutely the same. But they are one-time, occasional and solvable issues. It is not a tendency linked with the poorer quality of our products or their higher price. Our products are still far cheaper than those offered by our Western competitors," Fomin told journalists ahead of the Aero India 2013 international aerospace show, which will be held in Bangalore from February 6 to February 10.
Fomin described Russia's loss of Indian tenders on fighter jets, combat helicopters, heavyweight helicopters and other types of aircraft as a "general tendency, stemming primarily from competition."
"But this tendency is natural, predictable and anticipated," he said.
Any foreign customer has a right to choose, he added.
"Our Indian partners have this right as well. We respect their choice. We live in a tightly competitive environment. Our rivals are known. First and foremost, it is the United States and France, as well as Britain, Israel and some other countries as far as certain parameters are concerned," Fomin said.
Successes and losses at tenders cannot always be explained by purely technical or economic reasons, Fomin said.
"One ought to see the combination of all parameters, including partners' intention to diversify relations in the area of military-technological cooperation," he said.
Asked to assess the prospects for deliveries of Russian MiG-35 fighter jets to India in the foreseeable future, Fomin said that "we, regrettably, have lost this tender and I do not see such prospects."
"We will be pleased to provide them if our Indian customers forward such a request," he said.
"Another thing is that, as far as I know, the winner of the tender that our MiG-35 lost has not taken any steps yet," Fomin said.