India signs deal for latest Russian tanks

Defence Minister Fernandes wants less dependence on overseas arms

By Staff and wire reports

NEW DELHI, India -- India has signed a deal with Russia to supply 310 of its latest battle tanks in a deal worth $600 million say defense experts.

Russia will begin delivery of 124 fully assembled T-90 tanks within a month. The rest will eventually be assembled in a factory in the town of Avadi, southern Tamil Nadu state.

The tanks would significantly boost the armed forces, with superior mobility, fire power and night vision, say defense forces. India denied claims that the purchase was made in a bid to match Pakistan's 1996 purchase of 300 tanks from the Ukraine.

The agreement, signed in the presence of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov and Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes, follows two years of negotiations and extensive trials in Indias Rajasthans deserts.

"This acquisition has nothing to do with Pakistan. Our Vijayanta and T-55 tanks are almost obsolete and require immediate replacement," defence expert Lieutenant-General Satish Nambiar told Reuters.The two countries also signed an agreement for the transfer of technology needed for the manufacture of these tanks in India.

Most of the country's 3,500 tanks are Russian made with the arms forces being a faithful customer of the Soviet arms industry during the Cold War. The two countries' patron-client defense relationship continued throughout the 1990s. "The Vijayanta tanks, which were inducted into the army in the 1960s, are running more on willpower than horsepower," he added.

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