Yunus Dar

Viktor Kladov, director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy at Rostec spoke to FORCE on the sidelines of Aero India 2019 at Bengaluru, about the company’s outlook on the emerging business atmosphere in India, especially the trend in the promotion of domestic private players.

Director, International Cooperation and Regional Policy, Rostec, Viktor Kladov during a press interaction at
Aero India 2019

On the controversy over Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India, Kladov said, “We hear a lot about smaller defence companies declare ‘we would like to assemble Ka-226T helicopters’. But let’s see the reality, the reality is that the only Indian company fit enough to produce aircraft is still HAL. If we take other Indian companies, state or private companies, they will have to start from scratch. It’s a green field. We have to invest billions to start production.”

Kladov said the Russian government had conveyed to his Indian counterpart during the meeting at the show, saying they still choose HAL as major partner over the others. “Yesterday there was a discussion between our minister and your minister and knowing there is a current trend talking about private companies, he explained to the minister. He told him, please excuse us, we may not be in line with your stress, with your emphasis on the private sector. But we still choose HAL as a partner to co-produce MiG-35. Why? Because they have been producing Sukhoi-30 for many years. They have got skilled personnel. They have got the engineers. They have got designers and facilities already there.

“Once