HIGHLIGHTS
India has inked pacts with Russia to acquire advanced air defence missile systems, stealth frigates as well as jointly produce light-utility helicopters
The three projects are collectively worth an estimated $10.5 billion (over Rs 72,000 crore)
NEW DELHI: Correcting the pronounced tilt towards the US in defence deals over the last decade, India on Saturday inked pacts with Russia to acquire advanced air defence missile systems, stealth frigates as well as jointly produce light-utility helicopters. The three projects are collectively worth an estimated $10.5 billion (over Rs 72,000 crore).
The two pacts or inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) for five new-generation Russian S-400 Triumf missile systems and four upgraded Teg or Grigorivich-class frigates, apart from the joint venture to produce 200 Kamov-226T light utility helicopters, are not actual contracts as yet. That will take some time, with the nitty-gritties and final costs to be sealed through further negotiations in the days ahead.
But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in whose presence the pacts were inked in Goa, were all gung-ho about the reinforcement of the bilateral strategic partnership "to lay deeper defence ties" in the years ahead. "Agreements on manufacturing Kamov-226T helicopters; constructions of frigates; and acquisition and building of other defence platforms are in synergy with India's technology and security priorities," said Modi.
In terms of sheer strategic value, India's acquisition of the five S-400 systems for over $5.5 billion is clearly going to be game-changer. TOI was the first to report in October 2015 about India's decision to go in for the S-400 systems, which basically have three kinds of missiles that can fly at supersonic and hypersonic speeds to intercept all kinds of targets at ranges from 120 to 400-km.
Defence sources said the S-400 systems, with three meant for the western front with Pakistan and the other two for the eastern one with China, can shoot down Chinese or Pakistani fighters while they are flying in their own airspaces.
India will be the second customer for the S-400 (called SA-21 Growler by NATO), with China slated to get the anti-aircraft\anti-missile systems under a $3 billion deal with Russia in 2014. A defence source said, "Most of the negotiations for our S-400 systems are over ... the contract should be inked among the first to be inked."
The $4 billion pact for the four 4,000-tonne guided-missile stealth frigates also has some strategic content to it though it is not acknowledged in public. India's quest to lease a second nuclear-powered submarine (the first INS Chakra came in 2012) for around $1.5 billion from Russia has been linked by Moscow to New Delhi's agreement to acquire the frigates lying half-constructed at the Yantar Shipyard due to a cash-crunch.
India will also have to acquire Zorya gas-turbine engines for the frigates from Ukraine, which is bitterly opposed to Russia as of now. "While two of the frigates will come from Russia, with a faster delivery time, the other two will be built here. It will take time for the contract with the selected Indian shipyard to be finalized," said a source.
As for the Kamov-226T choppers, the IGA for it was inked during Modi's visit to Moscow in December last year. It's only now the joint venture for the project, with the memorandum of association, share-holders agreement and the like, has been inked between defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics (with majority 50.5% stake) and Russian Rostec State Corporation.
But the different pacts do show that Russia is reasserting its numero uno status in the Indian defence market. It was after the 1999 Kargil conflict that India began to increasingly turn to countries like US, Israel, France and UK so as to not put all its eggs in the Russian basket. As the strategic clinch with the US got tighter, Washington alone bagged Indian defence deals worth $15 billion since 2007.
Though India still remains slightly unhappy with Russia for not sticking to delivery schedules, jacking up costs mid-way, putting hurdles in technology transfer and unreliable spares support, New Delhi knows only Moscow will help it with "strategic projects" like nuclear-powered submarines or the S-400 systems.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...worth-Rs-72000-crore/articleshow/54871603.cms
