The bright side of the delayed frigate delivery to India

[angeldemon_007]

India has announced that Russia delayed its delivery of three frigates to the Indian Navy by over a year. Given the circumstances under which the contract was made and executed, the delay could have been even longer.
Past-due frigates
The timetable for manufacturing the three frigates for India (the Tag, Tarkash and Trikand) has been pushed back significantly, says the Indian military. The Tag should have been delivered in April. However, the date has been postponed for 12 months, according to a statement by the Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony. The Tarkash, which was expected to join the Indian Navy in October 2011, will be 11 months late, and the Trikand, scheduled for April 2012, will be 14 months overdue.
Antony said the delays were caused by "a shortage of skilled labor capable of building several ships simultaneously," and he also noted flaws in the production chain resulting in delays of equipment deliveries from Russian subcontractors.
The three Project 1135.6 frigates are being built at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad. All of them have been set afloat and are close to completion.
Second series for India
The three frigates under construction at Yantar constitute India' second order for ships of this type. They were actually created specially for the Indian Navy as extensive upgrades of Soviet-era Project 1135.1 frigates. The contract to build the first three frigates - the Talwar, Trishul and Tabar - was signed in November 1997, and was valued at about $1 billion.
St. Petersburg's Baltic Shipyard (Baltiisky Zavod) was chosen as the manufacturer. A number of innovations were incorporated into the modified ships. For example, the ship is equipped with Club-N anti-ship missiles - the export version of the Caliber missile system - which is only now finding its way into the Russian fleet.
The Baltic Shipyard missed the delivery deadlines for the first border of frigates. The last of the three ships reached India only in April 2004; 2003 was stipulated in the contract. There was nothing surprising about this, and it did not cause a scandal. The export-oriented Russian defense industry has only recently become capable of major industrial production, and New Delhi has reacted to the delays with understanding.
In 2006, having gained operating experience with the first three frigates, Delhi ordered three more ships from Russian shipbuilders. Initially, India wanted six such frigates at the same time, but at the last minute the decision was made to order just three. The new contract was valued at $ 1.6 billion.
Political order
The Baltic Shipyard did not receive the contract for the second consignment of three frigates. After extended talks, it was given to Kaliningrad shipbuilders.
"The Yantar plant was given the second series of ships for political reasons," said Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. "This was done not so much to support the specific plant as the economy of the entire Kaliningrad exclave."
The Yantar plant was in a terrible state in terms of both finances and personnel. But India, which agreed on the executor of the contract, has no real cause to complain. If New Delhi had firmly insisted on its terms and demanded that the contract for these ships be given to the familiar Baltic Shipyard, Moscow would have most likely met them halfway, so as not to miss out on these lucrative contracts.
However, despite the noticeable delay cited by the Indian side, the Kaliningrad plant is filling the orders. The problems faced at Yantar are similar to those faced by the Baltic plant in the case of the first batch of frigates. Having no stable income, the Yantar plant took its time to restore production capacity and the skill level of its workforce, as well as to arrange production with subcontractors
The plant just barely eked it out, but the job was completed, despite the terrible conditions at the outset. Konstantin Makiyenko said that initially the problems were such that one could have expected a much larger delay than the one currently cited by the Indian side.
"By all appearances, the plant is all warmed up from filling the order and will work more smoothly in the future," he said.
In addition, it should be noted that the Russian Navy itself has placed orders with the Yantar plant after evaluating the Project 1135.6 platform based on the Indian contracts. The plant laid the keels for the flagship frigate Admiral Grigorovich in December 2010 and the Admiral Essen in July 2011. It is also expected to lay the keel for third frigate, which according to a number of sources will be named the Admiral Makarov.

The bright side of the delayed frigate delivery to India | Features & Opinion | RIA Novosti

 

[Abingdonboy]

What bright side?? Lol? Maybe for the Russian shipyards/RuN as they have received a significant investment from IN. But what is the bright side for IN? the delays are going to be as long as they could be? It says somthing about the Indian dealings with Russia if that is the "bright side". And given that this is likely to the last ever Indian order for Russian ships to be be built in Russia the IN wont even benefit from the improvements at Yanter in the future because they won't use it!!!


What an utter joke!! You pay for a service and this is how a "friend" treats you. Absolute jokers and the GoI/MoD are worse because they let this happen!!

 

[LiberalAtheist]

we should have had the last 3 been built at GRSE or somewhere else in India it would give experience to Indian shipbuilders

 

[Jon Snow]

we should have had the last 3 been built at GRSE or somewhere else in India it would give experience to Indian shipbuilders

And waited an extra 5 yrs before getting the ships?? in a large contract like this one, delays of a few months are expected and is not a cause of concern.
if we had given it to an indian shipyard we would probably get the ships only in 2017

 

[Archie]

we should have had the last 3 been built at GRSE or somewhere else in India it would give experience to Indian shipbuilders

Mazagaon Docks will take 11 yrs to deliver 3 Shivalik class Frigates ie 2001-2012
Russia will deliver 3 Teg class frigates in 7 yrs ie 2006-2013
I think thats still way better than Indian standards

Infact India is also looking at ordering 4 more advanced Talwar class Frigates for 3 Billion USD from Russia , as a security against a possible delay in P17A and P15B ,
as u know that we are targetting yr 2018 as delivery date for P17A so as to be able to replace Godavari class
should there be a delay in delivery of P17A and P15B beyond 2020 , then there is a chance that we might have just 12 Frigates and 6 Destroyers for 1-2 Yrs

On the other hand, if every thing go as per plan , then we could have a fleet of 10 Destroyers and 23 Figates by 2024

 

[LiberalAtheist]

And waited an extra 5 yrs before getting the ships?? in a large contract like this one, delays of a few months are expected and is not a cause of concern.
if we had given it to an indian shipyard we would probably get the ships only in 2017

Mazagaon Docks will take 11 yrs to deliver 3 Shivalik class Frigates ie 2001-2012
Russia will deliver 3 Teg class frigates in 7 yrs ie 2006-2013
I think thats still way better than Indian standards

Infact India is also looking at ordering 4 more advanced Talwar class Frigates for 3 Billion USD from Russia , as a security against a possible delay in P17A and P15B ,
as u know that we are targetting yr 2018 as delivery date for P17A so as to be able to replace Godavari class
should there be a delay in delivery of P17A and P15B beyond 2020 , then there is a chance that we might have just 12 Frigates and 6 Destroyers for 1-2 Yrs

On the other hand, if every thing go as per plan , then we could have a fleet of 10 Destroyers and 23 Figates by 2024

that is not true GRSE has experience in ship building same with GSL HSL MDL etc

part of the reasons for that delay was because of U.S holding the sale of GE turbines to power the ships and Russia not being able to supply the steel needed for the ships if that time is considered the Shivalik frigates were completed in a reasonable amount of time

the first P-15A ship should be ready by 2015, my point being cost overruns and delays from foreign nations in supplying steel,engines etc when we could look to our private sector for these things, air conditioning, weapons, radar, electronics all could be supplied by Indian companies but foreign vendors are given preference

 

[angeldemon_007]

I hope we don't make any more purchase of frigates or corvettes from Russia. There is a chance a follow on order of 4 modified kravak might be placed. I think now even the cost of talwar class has escalated and hence its better we should select a better frigate. Both French and Britishers are offering there best frigates (FREMM and Type 26) and i think we should go for it.

 

[Archie]

I hope we don't make any more purchase of frigates or corvettes from Russia. There is a chance a follow on order of 4 modified kravak might be placed. I think now even the cost of talwar class has escalated and hence its better we should select a better frigate. Both French and Britishers are offering there best frigates (FREMM and Type 26) and i think we should go for it.

A 6000 ton Multirole frigate will not cost less than 1.2 Billion USD IN 2018
Russian are willing to deliver 4000 Ton advance Talwar class frigates for 800 Million each in 2018
Even P17A frigates weighing 6200 tons will cost 1.3 Billion USD each when they are inducted in 2019-20

 

[Archie]

These days u cant just induct a 2700 Ton ship with just 1-2 capabilities and call it a guided missile frigate like what PN and PLAN do
Do u guys know . that many of PLANs fleet of 50 odd Frigates comprise of ships weighing 1400-2300 tons
Last yr Indian Navy placed an order for new missile boats /OPV weighing 2200 Tons , and we also launched a corvette weighing 2500 Tons

 

[LiberalAtheist]

the more we build our own warships the better and the perks needed for it too like turbines, electronics, weapons, air conditioning for gods sake our PVT sector could have provided those things (as for weapons DRDO or Indian company in JV with foreign company could license produce needed weapons) in terms of warship building we are good Shivalik frigates Godvari and Brahmaputra frigates are an example of this, the Delhi and Kolkata stealth destroyers is another one, the fact have built and are building our own nuke sub is another achievement also we are making aircraft carriers now, the only thing we need to build indigenously now is conventional submarines and have a good fleet of them we have like 16 compared to the 70+ China has

i am confident in our warship industry, one thing that would really make us a blue water navy is having helicopter carriers like the mistral class carriers which can deploy troops and whatnot in a amphibious assault, we only have INS Jalwasha but need good amphibious capability

if we want to be a military superpower then why not go for everything? (that is if we can afford it)