The commander-in-chief of the Russian Land Forces Army, General Alexei Fedorovich Maslov, will arrive here tomorrow on a five-day visit which is aimed at enhancing the defence ties between two of the oldest allies.
The visit by a Russian Land Forces Chief to India comes after almost eight years and assumes special significance in view of the increased military-to-military interaction between the armed forces of the two countries. Russia has been India’s largest supplier of military equipment and the two countries have together also developed the world’s only supersonic cruise missile, Brahmos.
At present, the ongoing defence cooperation encompasses equipment procurement, exchange of delegations, conduct of joint exercises, and joint designing, development and marketing of military equipment.
The first joint airborne exercise between the two armies was conducted in 2005 in India and the next joint exercise is planned to be conducted in Russia later this year.
During his visit, the Russian Land Forces Commander will meet the Chief of the Army Staff, General J.J. Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major, defence secretary Shekhar Dutt and other senior defence officials.
General Maslov will also visit some important institutions of the Indian armed forces.
According to an official spokesperson here, his visit was expected to give an impetus to the existing bilateral defence cooperation as also further diversify Army-to-Army cooperation in the field of training and exchange of experts in spheres of mutual interest.