'Factually Incorrect & Misleading': India Rejects NYT Claims on HAL Re-Routing Sensitive Tech to Russia

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has dismissed a report by an American daily that alleged a British aerospace manufacturer supplied the equipment to an Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics, which later passed it on to a Russian arms agency.

The New York Times report dated March 28, 2025 has claimed that the British aerospace manufacturer H.R. Smith Group “shipped the equipment to an Indian firm”, which was later handed over to Rosoboronexport, a Russian company”.

“We have seen a report published by The New York Times. The said report is factually incorrect and misleading. It has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative,” MEA sources said.  

MEA Rejects NYT Report   

The official sources further said that the “Indian entity mentioned in the report has scrupulously followed all its international obligations” on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments. 

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India’s robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade continues to guide overseas commercial ventures by its companies. We expect reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which obviously was overlooked in the instant case, sources added.  

The report in the New York Times claimed that the aerospace company “H.R. Smith Group was an early backer of the Reform UK party after Nigel Farage became leader”.

H.R. Smith Group donated 100,000 pounds (just under $130,000) to Reform U.K. last year, two days after Nigel Farage was announced as the party’s leader, the report claimed.