Army Chief Dhiraj Seth Heads to Russia to Discuss Spare Parts, New Military Platforms
Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth will travel to Russia on Wednesday, September 15, 2026, for an official visit during which he is expected to hold discussions with the Russian military leadership on a range of issues, including new military platforms being offered by Moscow.
Sources in the defence establishment said General Seth is scheduled to meet senior military leadership during the visit. The talks are expected to provide an opportunity to review ongoing defence cooperation between the two countries from a land-forces perspective.
Among the issues likely to figure in the discussions is the availability of spare parts and supplies for Russian-origin equipment currently operated by the Indian Army, the sources said. This has been a recurring subject in India-Russia defence exchanges, as a substantial share of the Army's equipment — including T-90 tanks, BMP-series infantry combat vehicles and various artillery and air defence systems — has its origins in Russia.
General Seth is also expected to take forward ongoing discussions on the upgradation and modernisation of existing systems, besides exploring cooperation in new military platforms and technologies being offered by Russia.
The visit comes amid efforts by India and Russia to deepen defence cooperation while gradually expanding the relationship beyond the traditional buyer-seller framework. The two sides have increasingly been looking at joint production and technology cooperation.
New Delhi has for years balanced its long-standing defence ties with Moscow against a push to diversify the sources of its military equipment and to build domestic manufacturing capacity. Russia remains one of India's largest defence suppliers, and the two countries have worked together on licensed production arrangements in the past.
The Army's interest in the visit is likely to centre on maintaining the operational readiness of equipment already in service — a concern that has grown as supply chains have faced pressure in recent years — alongside questions of how older systems might be upgraded rather than replaced.
Details of the specific platforms, technologies or timelines under discussion have not been made public. The Army and the Ministry of Defence have not issued a detailed statement on the agenda, and no outcomes, agreements or purchases have been announced. Readers should note that the information available so far rests on official sources in the defence establishment rather than any released document.
Such visits are routine in the calendar of military diplomacy and serve several purposes at once: they allow service chiefs to assess the state of cooperation directly, to press for faster delivery of spares and support, and to weigh the merits of new offers against India's own production plans and budget priorities.
What the visit produces in concrete terms — whether it leads to fresh commitments on spares, an upgrade programme, or simply a continuation of talks — will become clearer only after the discussions conclude. Until then, the confirmed facts are limited: the Chief of Army Staff is travelling to Russia for official meetings with the Russian military leadership, with spare parts, modernisation and new platforms on the agenda.
