The reported sale of RD-93 engines to Pakistan for integration into the JF-17 will actually benefit Delhi, news agency PTI quoted Russian defence experts as saying on Sunday.

The experts also dismissed as “unjustified" the criticism of the Indian government by the Opposition, and 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," Pyotr Topychkanov, who heads the Section on New Challenges in South and Southeast Asia at the prestigious Moscow-based Primakov Institute, told PTI.

“Firstly, it shows that China and Pakistan haven’t yet managed to replace the Russian-origin engine," Topychkanov said.

“Secondly, the new aircraft will be familiar and predictable to India, especiall

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