Indian Defense Firm Says It Did Not Resell U.K. Technology to Russia

An Indian defense company says that it did not resort Russian -sensitive technology that was supplied by one of the largest corporate donors for the United Kingdom of populist reform.

The New York Times reported in March that, according to the 2023 and 2024 shipping records, the British aerospace manufacturer HR Smith Group exported equipment to India that had been indicated as a critic for Russian weapons systems. That included transmitters, cabin equipment and antennas.

The Indian company, Hindustan Aeronautics, is the largest trading partner of the Russian weapons agency Rosoboronexport.

Hindustan Aeronautics did not respond to repeated requests for comments, but an HR Smith lawyer recently provided the Times with a statement of Hindustan Aeronautics that remains that the British team was not sold to Russia. The statement was that a week after the Times article, coverage in India was published and recovered.

That is aligned with the HR Smith Group account, which said the sales were legal and that the equipment was used in an Indian search and rescue network. The pieces “support life savings operations” and “are not designed for military use,” said Nick Watson, the company’s lawyer.

In his statement, Hindustan Aeronautics said the pieces were used for helicopters operated in India.

Shipping records showed that, in some cases, a few days after receiving the British team, he sent pieces to Russia with the same identification products codes. These codes are related to specific types of equipment, such as radar technology, but can cover a series of pieces. HR Smith said that meant that the codes could not be used to connect their pieces with those sold by the Indian company.

HR Smith Group donated 100,000 pounds (just under $ 130,000) to reform the United Kingdom last year, two days after Nigel Farage was announced as the party leader. The company is directed by Richard Smith, a businessman who owns 55 Tufton Street, an attached house in Westminster that houses some of the most influential research and lobbying groups in Great Britain.

Great Britain and the United States have banned the sale of teams to Rosoboronexport, but India no. Western companies can sell to Indian companies, but they have urged to be diligent to ensure that the pieces do not deviate to Russia.

Hindustan’s aeronautics is identifiable in public records as a supplier of the Russian army, but is not under financial sanctions, so British colleagues can sell it.

Upon arriving on March, Mr. Farage said that “he had never approved anything at all that Putin has done,” but refused to comment on human resources sales. A party spokesman said the donation was legal.

“Such unfortunate attempts to stain the reform will not work,” said the spokesman.