Russia sealed $2.9 billion of weapons contracts Monday with India, as President Vladimir Putin visited his nation's top arms customer for the first time since returning to the Kremlin in May.
Deals include a supply of kits worth $1.6 billion for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to assemble 42 Sukhoi Su-30MKI jets, made by United Aircraft's Irkut Corp., and 71 MI-17 V-5 helicopters worth $1.3 billion, according to the Kremlin/.../
India has been "Russia-oriented for a long time," Barry Watts, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a public policy group in Washington, said in a phone interview. New Delhi likes that Moscow is more willing to share weapons technology, even if it is not the most advanced, Mr. Watts said.