Procurement: March 15, 2005

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India continues to have problems getting spare parts, from Russia, for the Russian destroyers, amphibious ships and patrol ships India uses. India has always had spare parts problems with Russian equipment. But the problem has become acute since the end of the Cold War, which caused many Russian military manufacturers to go out of business. Russia is aware that this spare parts situation has tarnished the entire Russian arms industry, and makes export sales more difficult. Some non-Russian firms have jumped in and offered to manufacture spares for some Russian equipment. But these parts are much more expensive, and not available for everything. The spare parts issue is one of the more important, but less well-known, reasons why Russia has a hard time selling weapons.