Ukraine, India in a comprehensive defence cooperation programme

Bangalore: In a significant development, Ukraine and India have agreed to frame an inter-governmental commission on military technical cooperation. The understanding was arrived at after talks at the AeroIndia 2009 international aerospace exhibition in Bangalore.

An Interfax-Ukraine report quoted the Ukrainian industry ministry as saying that "the reason for preparing such an agreement lies in the new prospects for extending military technical cooperation between Ukraine and India".

It further said that an intergovernmental group will be established to implement the agreement.

According to the report, it was also agreed that Ukrainian expertise will be sought for programmes aimed at modernizing Indian armour, aviation (including planes of the MiG, Antonov, Tupolev and Ilyushin series) as well as helicopters of the Mi and Kamov series.

Apart from modernizing, cooperation will extend to supplying air weaponry, ground-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, radars and high-accuracy weapons.

The Ukrainian delegation to AeroIndia 2009was led by industry minister Volodymyr Novytsky.

Ukraine has a fairly robust defence development and production establishment which it inherited from the erstwhile Soviet Union. These include sophisticated radar systems, which India may eye for its own short and medium term needs, even as it builds indigenous capability.

In the past Ukraine has also supplied T-80 tanks, equipped with reactive armour, to Pakistan. This provided India's hostile neighbor with a substantial jump in armour capability compelling it to make urgent purchase of the T-90 series of tanks from Russia.