The relationship between India and Russia has changed significantly since the end of the Cold War, but there’s one area in which ties have remained virtually unbroken – defence cooperation.

The recent visit of India’s Navy chief underscored the closeness of defence ties with Russia. A failed Russian fighter bid won’t change that.

India, with a defence budget for the current year of Rs. 1.5 trillion ($32.5 billion), imports more than 70 percent of its arms, the vast majority of which come from Russia. It’s against this backdrop that Indian Navy Chief Adm. Nirmal Verma recently concluded a visit to Russia following an invitation from Adm. Vladimir Sergeivich Vysotskiy, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy.

Verma’s visit was only the latest in a series of high-level meetings between top defence personnel and leaders from both countries, and followed a visit by Vysotskiy to India in January.

During his trip, Verma took in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Kaliningrad and Severodvinsk, and engaged with numerous senior Russian officials including Deputy Defence Minister A. Antonov. Verma also visited design bureaus and shipyards engaged in constructing ships for the Indian Navy.

According to the Indian Navy, Verma ‘reviewed the progress of the Talwar Class follow-on warships, under construction at the Yantar shipyard, and was reassured that the first warship “Teg” would commence trials shortly and be delivered in six to eight months.’The new frigates in this class, namely ‘Teg,’ ‘Teer’ and ‘Trikand’ are follow-ons of the three Talwar Class warships built for India by Russia and brought into service in the early part of the last decade. With the new ships, the Russian-origin Klub missiles would be replaced by the indigenous BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system.

During his visit to the Sevmash Shipyard, where the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov is being retrofitted, Verma noted that ‘significant progress had been made on the Gorshkov project and the ship was shaping up well for the preliminary sea trials.’ A press release by the Indian Navy also noted that Verma ‘made a first-hand assessment of all projects,’ adding that ‘they were progressing satisfactorily and had reached critical stages of maturity.’ He also expressed satisfaction with the quality of construction and repairs, and told Russian media that the Russian Mig 29KUB fighter jet designed for the Gorshkov was sound, claiming that the recent accident involving the aircraft wouldn’t affect India’s arms orders with Russia.

But discussions went beyond just talk of hardware, reflecting the strategic importance that the two sides place on relations. For example, the two sides also discussed increasing cooperation in anti-piracy operations, and they agreed that the INDRA series of exercises still form an important aspect of the bilateral relationship and so should be continued and expanded.

Russia conducted its second intercontinental ballistic missile test in less than a month on May 20 as it stepped up its campaign against a US-backed interceptor system for Europe.

Acording to Defense News the Sineva missile was launched from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea and later successfully hit its target on the opposite side of the country on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

"The launch was conducted from a submerged position," defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.

"The warheads hit the test range on schedule," he added.

The Sineva submarine-launched missile is one of the most recent additions to Russia's nuclear arsenal and was only fully tested for the first time in 2008. Each missile carries up to 10 warheads and has a range of more than 6,800 miles. It was the second submerged missile launch conducted by Russia since April 26.

Russia occasionally tests its heavy nuclear missiles as it upgrades outdated models with new features and capabilities.

But the tests are also often seen as a show of force that coincide with diplomatic tensions with the West. Russia had scaled back its testing program as it negotiated a new nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States that went into effect after nearly a decade of tortuous negotiations earlier this year.

Yet Moscow is currently furious with Washington for pushing ahead with plans to deploy a missile defense system for Europe - a shield that Russia fears could one day be transformed into an offensive weapon that targets its soil.

Russia has demanded an equal say in how the system works and also sought formal security safeguards from the United States confirming the shield's peaceful long-term intent.

But both the United States and NATO have refused to let Russia have an equal say in the system's construction and operation. Moscow diplomats said Washington has also refused their safeguards request.

President Dmitry Medvedev warned earlier this week that Washington's failure to address Russia's concerns could lead to a new Cold War, and his comments were echoed on May 20 by the chief of the military's general staff. Gen. Nikolai Makarov said the system could pose a direct challenge to Russia's security once it becomes more powerful in 2015 and force Moscow to channel funds on new weapons development that could lead to "a mad arms race".

"No one needs a new round of the arms race," Makarov said.

Russia National Technology Group representative in Argentina, Anatoly Zuev said: Uruguay decided to buy a lots of Russian multi-task armored cars "Tiger".

According to Anatoly Zuev, the contract Russian and Uruguay signed on 28 / 4 past is high political nature.

"Currently, Uruguay Ministry of Interioris especially need this car to fight drug trafficking", the representative Russia National Technology Group said.

However, he didn't specify the total contract value and the quantity of vehicles that Russia'll provide for the partner.

Although this vehicle has undergone trials in Brazil but for at the moment there isn't still any contract between the two countries. Therefore, the Russian representative said, Uruguay is the first country in Latin America lead in the procurement of armored cars "Tiger".

Over 10 years of technical defense cooperation - between Russia and Uruguay, two countries have signed dozens of contracts to transfer weapons. However, "Tiger" vehicle purchased contract is the first contract which Uruguay signed with Russian Interior Ministry.

Armored cars "Tiger" Gaz-2330 is capable of accelerating to 140km / h, which can carry 6-9 people or 12 tons of useful load. Car team can fight with personal weapons from opening door on the roof or through holes on the sides of doors.

Price per unit "Tiger" Gaz-2330 which manufactured from 2005 up to $ 300,000.