Gorshkov (carrier)deal: tightrope walk for Russia,India

NEW DELHI: India and Russia have a tightrope walk ahead as they try to salvage the deal for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. Both sides are in talks to arrive at a mid-way point after Russia surprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s delegation last month by presenting a bill of $1.2 billion as additional cost for refurbishing Admiral Gorshkov (to be renamed INS Vikramaditya).

Sources here said that Russia will be prepared to take a second look at the cost estimates presented but India does not want to pay more for a task that has already suffered extensive time overruns. Russian negotiators have let it be known that they would be happier returning the $400 million given by India as advance for repairing and modernising the partially gutted aircraft carrier.

However, the Indian side is seeing this threat as the beginning of another round of hard-nosed negotiations as was the case with the Sukhoi cost escalation issue.

It feels Russia would not let go of the opportunity of supplying a major military platform along with a brand new fighter aircraft, helicopters and weapon systems. Having virtually lost the entire Indian market for air defence systems and with the U.S. in the process of completing the Navy’s requirement for giant amphibious ships, sources said Russia would not be keen to carry out its threat of nulling the contract and offering the ship for breaking up to Canada.

On the other hand, the Russians have taken note of Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta’s observations that India might have to look elsewhere for hardware if contractual obligations were missed by a wide margin. Apart from the American interest in supplying ships to the Navy, India is also tapping European companies for the supply of fuel tankers and, possibly, warships.

And, if the Gorshkov deal turns sour there is a possibility of this bitterness impacting the selection process for submarines for its eastern coast. Visakhapatnam, which hosts the Navy’s Eastern Command, has long been considered a Russian preserve. Moscow is keen that the presence of its vessels and technical experts there continues uninterrupted.

Besides with Russia having almost agreed to supply nuclear submarines, Defence Minister A. K. Antony has sought to neutralise Admiral Mehta’s remarks by stating that Indo-Russian defence cooperation was not “contract-centric” and would be maintained at peak levels. According to agency reports, Mr. Antony said in Pokhran, Rajasthan, after the Air Force’s manoeuvres, that “our relations with Russia have stood the test of time for over 60 years.”

“This is the only view of the government,” Mr. Antony said of his observations. On the eve of Navy Day earlier this month, Admiral Mehta had said the slippages in delivery schedule for the Gorshkov had “us wondering where the relationship with Russia is going.”

The Navy desperately needs the Russian aircraft carrier because its sole functional carrier, INS Viraat, is on its last legs. An indigenous but smaller carrier than the Gorshkov is still in the docks and might take at least four years more to complete.

Even if the construction of the indigenous carrier is on schedule, the Navy will still want the Gorshkov in order to operate aircraft carriers along both its coastal flanks. Ideally, the Navy wishes to have three aircraft carriers but is reconciled to possessing two, provided New Delhi and Moscow somehow agree to salvage the Gorshkov deal and not too many hiccups mar the indigenous carrier project — the most ambitious ever taken up by Indian shipyards.

Flying skills and marksmanship of the air warriors in their killer flying machines came alive over the skies as the Air Force gave an awesome display of its fighting prowess and capability. Fifty aircraft comprising country’s frontline fighters such as Sukhoi-30, Mirage 2000, ground attack MiG-27 and recently upgraded MiG-21 Bisons and Helicopter gunships went into action making the vast desert sands lit up with fire, fury and smoke.

This was the first live firepower display by the IAF in the last three years. Each year its lethality is increasing. This time its stand-off capability, precision bombing and laser-guided attacks were displayed for the first time.

Air warriors, in the presence of Mr. Antony, Air Chief Air Marshal Fali Homi Major, Defence Secretary Vijay Singh and other top services brass, pounded and blasted away a wide range of targets as they displayed attacks on mock enemy radar sites, troop concentration, ammunition dumps, convoys and petrol and oil depots.

The sprawling range in Rajasthan, where India carried out its nuclear tests in 1998, is home to IAF’s largest air-to-ground weapons firing facility.

The flying skills of the air warriors have won the acclaim of foreign air forces.

Since this contract dispute arose I have wondered if one or both of the new proposed British carriers eventually will wind up with India and/ or Australia. The post-Blair government certainly has no real desire to spend the money to operate such ships, but completing the construction for a third party would save thousands of British jobs.

I don’t think Australia plans on buying real carriers anytime soon(heck,they elected labour-didn’t ya hear!!!!).They seem content with their 2 soon to be built amphibious carriers which maybe modified for the F-35B.

About India,well the cost would be much higher & the time of entry into service is too distant.By that time,the Indigneous Indian carrier would have entered service.It would be inferior in capability,but costs would be lower.

I’d hazard a guess & say that the Brits will build one,if not the 2 carriers.It’s their only route to maintain real power projection capability.The things that may get the axe are future Eurofighter & Type-45 destroyer orders.

“Sandeep Dikshit” You know this kid grew up tough...

Doesn’t he work for Dell?

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