21 - 07 - 2026

Russia Seeks Deeper Tank Ties With India Through T-90MS Production Offer

Russia is offering India the joint production of the latest T-90MS tank, a representative of Rosoboronexport (ROE) told RT India.

Rosoboronexport said the T-90MS could be built in India in stages, first through technology kits for assembly and then through local component manufacturing, using facilities already producing T-90S variants. “The technical foundation created by the technologies already transferred significantly reduces both the cost and the time needed to establish production of the T-90MS and combat vehicles based on it at Indian enterprises,” the company representative told RT.

Earlier this year, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov also praised the T-90MS’s combat performance, saying it stands “head and shoulders above” its NATO counterparts. That matters because India already operates a large fleet of Russian-origin T-72 and T-90 tanks, and the new proposal would build on an industrial base that has been shaped by years of licensed production at Avadi.

Russia’s offer to co-produce the T-90MS tank in India is the latest sign that one of the defence relationships most resilient to geopolitical churn is shifting from licensed assembly to deeper industrial partnership. If New Delhi accepts, the project would add another layer to a military relationship already defined by aircraft, air-defense systems, submarines and decades of co-production.

The offer also fits a broader pattern in India-Russia defence ties. India has co-produced Su-30MKI fighters under licence, worked with Russia on the BrahMos missile. programme and continued to modernise Soviet- and Russian-origin platforms even as it widened defence purchases from France, Israel and the US.

India’s armor modernisation plans

For Moscow, the pitch is commercially and strategically useful. It keeps Russia embedded in India’s armor modernisation plans at a time when New Delhi is preparing its Future Ready Combat Vehicle programme, which aims to replace ageing T-72s, while also offering upgrade packages for India’s existing T-90S fleet.

The T-90MS itself is being marketed as a more advanced battlefield platform, with improved protection, digital fire-control systems and compatibility with Indian-made components. Russian officials have argued that the shared technical base between the T-72, T-90S and T-90MS would reduce training, repair and standardisation costs for India.

Yet the wider backdrop is more complicated than a straightforward arms deal. India has spent the past decade trying to rebalance defense procurement toward domestic manufacturing and diversified suppliers, even as Russia remains a key source of legacy platforms, spares and upgrades. The real question is whether the T-90MS offer becomes another licensed-production chapter in that relationship, or a bridge to a more ambitious co-development model under Make in India.

The pitch builds on decades of tank production in India, but also comes as New Delhi weighs a larger shift toward next-generation armor and deeper localization.

Venkatesh G