Indian Naval News --> IAC on track, Viraat being refurbished

[aryan2007]

Antony snubs Navy Chief over ties with Russia


ew Delhi: India's Defence Minister, A K Antony has over-ruled the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta saying that there is no need for a review of defence ties with Russia.

Speaking in Pokhran, the Defence Minister said that there was also no need to review the supplies of defence equipment.

His statements come after Admiral Mehta said in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN some days ago that India will not give in to the Russian demand for a $1.2 billion price hike for the aircraft carrier, Gorshkov.

Admiral Mehta had indicated a hardening of stance against the traditional arms supplier to India.

He also said that that India would instead, extend the life of its own ageing carrier, Viraat.

This is what Admiral Mehta had told CNN-IBN: "I don't think there is any question of taking any advantage because then we can also put our feet down and say 'well it is a government to government contract and get on with it'. To me it should be that there is no escalation at all. Virat is doing quite well and we will be easily be able to run her for at least another seven-eight years."

Antony snubs Navy Chief over ties with Russia

 

[aryan2007]

Gorshkov deal: tightrope walk for Russia, India

Sandeep Dikshit

India does not want to pay more for a task that has suffered time overruns


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.
Selection process

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.

The Hindu : National : Gorshkov deal: tightrope walk for Russia, India