(Bloomberg) -- India appointed retired general Anil Chauhan as its next defense chief on Wednesday, as the country grapples with two unstable borders and growing questions about how to secure military supplies from Russia, a key supplier.

The appointment of General Chauhan, whose career spans four decades, comes at a time when India’s military is undergoing its biggest transformation since independence in 1947. The country’s military, which operates in silos, is trying to reorganize itself along the lines of those in places like the US, where land, naval and air forces fight together. 

But procuring supplies has become challenging. India is heavily dependent on Russian hardware and oil, which has become more complicated since the start of the war in Ukraine. The country’s air force, army and navy are also no longer able to import some critical weapons systems to replace aging ones, officials have said.

General Chauhan has served in a UN peacekeeping mission in Angola and in various capacities along India’s troubled western and northern borders, Ministry of Defense spokesperson A. Bharat Bhushan Babu said.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.