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Russian carrier deal to give Indian navy new power
India has finalised the purchase of a Russian aircraft carrier in a $1.5 billion deal giving Asiaâs only carrier-equipped navy dramatically stronger firepower and bringing nuclear rival China within range. Announcing the deal -- one of New Delhiâs biggest with its main arms supplier -- Defence Minister George Fernandes described the acquisition of the Admiral Gorshkov and a squadron of MiG-29 multi-role fighters as historic. Indiaâs only carrier at present, the INS Viraat, was built for defence and has a limited range, but the Gorshkov will give the navy the capacity to put a carrier taskforce into the South China Sea within range of China.Threatening their eastern flank. Russia will take five years to refit the Gorshkov, intended as a temporary replacement for the INS Vikrant -- decommissioned in the late 1990s -- until India can build its own carriers. India is the only country in the region with a carrier, an issue of concern among some of the countryâs smaller neighbours. Itâs only a "issue of concern" if you have "issues" with India. Its main rivals, Pakistan and China, both of whom have fought wars with India, also do not have carriers. They are the people with "issues". India is building up its navy and naval chief Madhvendra Singh said last month the Gorshkov was a "very, very powerful ship" which would "change the scene completely in our area". At least in some peopleâs minds. India has said it aims to build its own carriers in less than a decade but analysts expect this to take much longer. The navy has an ageing fleet of about 140 ships. It has patrolled widely in recent years, from the eastern coast of Africa to the Straits of Malacca in Southeast Asia. The Gorshkov, which joined the Soviet navy as the Baku in the mid-1980s, will be about 65 to 70 percent new by the time it is refitted. With good maintenance, sheâll be fine. Posted by: Steve 2004-01-20 |
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