New Delhi has called the report misleading and factually incorrect

New Delhi has dismissed a report by the New York Times that alleged one of India's largest defense and aerospace companies was involved in rerouting UK-made items to Russia. Indian government sources called the report "factually incorrect and misleading," denying claims against Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a state-run giant that manufactures fighter jets, helicopters, jet engines, avionics, and various spares.

The report by the New York Times, published on Friday, claimed that British aerospace manufacturer H.R. Smith Group has shipped some equipment to HAL, which is also one of the largest trading partners of Russia's Rosoboronexport (the state military export company), which has been sanctioned by the UK, US and EU since 2022, as a part of broader move by Western governments coming to cut Moscow off from global markets.

The report alleges, without providing any evidence, that HAL "in some instances" sends items imported from the UK firm to Russia. However, N.R. Smith denied this, and NYT itself noted in the report that "records do not prove that N.R. Smith's products ended up in Russia."

"The said report is factually incorrect and misleading. It has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative," Indian government source said. He added that the Indian company mentioned in the report has "scrupulously followed all its international obligations on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments" and also underlined the strength of country's legal system regarding trade in sensitive technologies.

"We expect reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which obviously was overlooked in the instant case," the sources added.

HAL has not commented publicly on the report at the time of publication. The company has in fact been one of Russia's largest defense partners in India for decades. It has upgraded Russian-origin MiG-21 and MiG-29 aircrafts deployed by the Indian Air Force, and discussions are ongoing between New Delhi and Moscow on upgrading the Su-30MKI. The Su-30MKI is the India-specific version of the Russian Su-30, which was brought into the Indian Air Force in 2002.

HAL has been manufacturing the Su-30MKIs since 2004 under a Russian license. As many as 222 aircraft have been produced at HAL's Nashik factory (the Air Force today operates a fleet of total 260 Su-30MKIs).

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This is not the first time Western media has alleged India's role in supplying sensitive technologies and components to Russia. In October 2024, the administration of then-US President Joe Biden sanctioned four Indian companies for allegedly supplying "advanced components, including microelectronics, to Moscow. A State Department official then told Reuters that there has been a "rise" in exports of such goods from India to Russia, threatening action against companies "facilitating such activity."

(RT.com)