British aerospace manufacturer HR Smith Group has slammed a New York Times report that accused it of transferring sensitive technology to a blacklisted agency supplying Russia with weapons via an Indian state-run company. The allegations are “entirely false”, the company told NDTV, echoing responses from sources trashing the charges against them and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a government-owned aerospace company.
“These allegations made by the New York Times are entirely false. HR Smith Group takes its supply chain obligations extremely seriously and follows all applicable export controls. We maintain rigorous supplier oversight and supply chain monitoring to uphold the highest standards of compliance,” said a company spokesperson.
The alleged products exported to India were for use in a satellite-based search and rescue network that supports life-saving operations across land, sea, and air. They “are not designed for military use”, it asserted.
The Group said they were not provided any evidence to support the claim that its products were shipped to Russia.
“The only apparent connection is a common Harmonized System code – an international product classification number used for customs purposes, covering a wide range of products. This code alone does not show what the product is or where it originates from and therefore cannot be used to establish a link, which the New York Times has misleadingly done,” it said.
The NYT article that ran with the headline “Major Donor to Reform U.K. Party Sold Parts Used In Weapons to Russian Supplier” had accused HR Smith Group of selling transmitters, cockpit equipment, and other sensitive technologies worth nearly $2 million to Russia.
Both the UK and US had banned such sales in the wake of the Ukraine war.
Some of the shipments reportedly went via Hindustan Aeronautics Limited – and had the “same identifying product codes”. The report claimed that HAL received 118 shipments from HR Smith Group between 2023 and 2024, and sent 13 shipments of the same products to Rosoboroneexport, a Russian arms agency blacklisted by the US and UK, during the same period.
HAL has not yet responded to the charges.
Sources had earlier told NDTV that the report was “factually incorrect and misleading”. Accusing the US-based outlet of trying to “distort facts to suit a political narrative”, they said HAL had followed all international obligations on strategic trade controls.
The sources also urged “reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports.”
