Russia tipped to win Army contract for air defence missiles

Russian defence major Rosoboronexport is understood to have emerged as the lowest bidder in the Indian Army's tender for procurement of a batch of short-range air defence missile systems, official sources said late on Monday.

The other contenders for the deal were Swedish firm SAAB and French military firm MBDA.

The sources said all laid-down procedures were followed in the bidding process and an official announcement on the lowest bidder was expected in the next few days.

Rosoboronexport had emerged as lowest bidder, said a senior military official. Some media reports valued the contract as being worth $3 billion and identified the Russian missile system as the Igla-S.

The Indian Army plans to procure hundreds of short-range air defence missiles as part of its efforts to enhance its overall combat capability.

If Rososboronexport is awarded the contract, it will be another mega contract won by Russia after the S-400 air defence deal. In October, India and Russia finalised the S-400 air defence missile system deal for the Indian Air Force.

Indian Air Force chief B.S. Dhanoa had last month said procurement of S-400 missile systems and 36 Rafale jets were like booster shots for the force.