The reported sale of RD-93 engines to Pakistan for integration into the JF-17 fighter jet could actually benefit India, according to Russian defence experts quoted by PTI on Sunday.
Experts dismissed criticism of the Indian government by the Opposition as “unjustified.” Pyotr Topychkanov, head of the Section on New Challenges in South and Southeast Asia at Moscow’s Primakov Institute, told PTI, “If reports about Russia providing engines for the JF-17 are correct, it actually benefits India in two ways.”
“Firstly, it shows that China and Pakistan haven’t yet managed to replace the Russian-origin engine,” Topychkanov explained. “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 also recalled that China had requested RD-93 engines from Russia for its FC-17 jets as a temporary measure, and that the potential transfer to Pakistan had been flagged during the NDA and UPA governments under Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Another unnamed expert added that discussions on the RD-93 deal were largely commercial and did not involve any transfer of technology (ToT) to Pakistan. “Moscow convinced New Delhi that the RD-93 deal was purely commercial without ToT, while India received a licence for the superior RD-33 engines under ToT,” the expert said.
The RD-93 engine, produced by Russia’s Klimov plant, delivers more thrust than its base RD-33 counterpart but has a shorter service life—2,200 hours compared to the RD-33’s 4,000 hours. Under a trilateral agreement between Russia, China, and Pakistan, fully assembled RD-93 engines have been supplied since the early 2000s. Pakistan is reportedly seeking a modified version of the engine, which is not yet developed.
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