Russian defense experts on Sunday stated that the reported sale of RD-93 engines to Pakistan for use in the JF-17 would be advantageous for India. They further dismissed the opposition’s criticism of the Indian government over the matter as unwarranted.
Pyotr Topychkanov, who leads the Section on New Challenges in South and Southeast Asia at the Moscow-based Primakov Institute, said, “I don’t think the criticism here is justified. If reports about Russia providing engines for the JF-17 are correct, it actually benefits India in two ways.”
He added, “Firstly, it shows that China and Pakistan haven’t yet managed to replace the Russian-origin engine. Secondly, the new aircraft will be familiar and predictable to India, especially since they share the same engine and India observed the JF-17’s operational use during the May 2025 crisis (Operation Sindoor).”
Topychkanov pointed out that China had approached Russia to supply RD-93 engines for its FC-17 aircraft as a temporary solution, and both the NDA and UPA governments, during the tenures of Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh, had raised concerns about the potential transfer of these engines to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, another expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he “vaguely remembers discussions on the issue.” He added, “Moscow convinced New Delhi that the RD-93 deal was purely commercial without transfer of technology (ToT), while India was given license for much superior RD-33 engines under ToT.”
RD-93 produced by the Klimov plant, in comparison to its base RD-33’s, has more thrust but decreased service life. RD-93 has a service life of 2,200 hours while RD-33’s is 4,000 hours.
Under a trilateral Russia-China-Pakistan agreement, Russia has been supplying fully assembled RD-93 engines since the early 2000s. Pakistan is now aiming for a modified version, which is not yet developed.
There was no official word about the sale.
BJP-Congress on JF-17 engines
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday demanded answers from the government on why India’s “once most reliable strategic ally”, Russia, is providing military support to Pakistan by supplying engines of Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets.
The BJP on Sunday called reports about Russia proceeding with the supply of JF-17 jet engines to Pakistan a “reckless information warfare” and hit out at the Congress for raising the issue on social media, accusing it of choosing the “side of the enemy” instead of India.
