The Ministry of External Affairs issued a clarification on Monday after a report linked state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to a Russian arms agency. Official sources said that the New York Times article was “factually incorrect” and “misleading” in its claims. The publication had suggested last week that HAL may have transferred military hardware supplied by a British aerospace major to the Russian agency Rosoboronexport.
“The said report is factually incorrect and misleading. It has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative. The Indian entity mentioned in the report has scrupulously followed all its international obligations on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments. India’s robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade continues to guide overseas commercial ventures by its companies,” MEA sources told ANI.
The New York Times report published on Friday cited ‘documents’ to claim that a leading donor to the populist Reform UK party had sold almost $2 million worth of transmitters, cockpit equipment, antennas and other sensitive technology to a major supplier of Moscow’s blacklisted state weapons agency. According to the article, Techtest — which is part of the British aerospace manufacturer HR Smith Group — shipped this equipment to HAL from 2023 to 2024. A lawyer for the company however insisted that the equipment was “destined for an Indian search-and-rescue network” rather than military usage.
Shipping records reviewed by the publication further claim that the company made 118 shipments of restricted technology to HAL during this time. While the records do not prove that HR Smith products ended up in Russia, NYT claimed that “parts with the same identifying product codes” had been received by the Indian company and sent to Russia within days of each other.
Reform UK is a right wing political party that has been led by Nigel Farage since June 2024. The party has been accused of being pro-Russia with Farage insisting last year that the European Union and NATO had “provoked” the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also accused him of ‘fawning over Vladimir Putin’ last month — even as Donald Trump praised Farage as a “great guy”.