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| India gives in to Russian demand on Gorshkov carrier deal | |
| 2008-02-28 | |
New Delhi: India has given in to Russia's demand for a staggering price hike for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. India will now pay almost an additional $1 billion over the agreed price of $1.5 billion. In yet another blow, Russia has also told India that the aircraft carrier will not be delivered before 2012, that's four years behind the schedule as laid out in the contract. The 45,000-tonne displacement carrier was to be delivered to India by August this year as per a $1.5 billion contract signed in 2004, but Russia stunned India in November last by demanding $1.2 billion more for refitting and other works. India capitulated to Russia's terms during Defence Secretary Vijay Singh's recent visit to Moscow. Singh denied reports that Russia wanted to cancel the contract, but admitted that Moscow demanded a 'reaffirmation' from New Delhi on this deal. The Gorshkov was phased out of the Russian Navy over 15 years back. Under the initial deal, the hull of the Soviet-built aircraft carrier Baku, re-christened 'Admiral of the Fleet Gorshkov' after the Soviet collapse, was transferred to the Indian Navy free of cost with a condition that it will be modernised at Russian shipyard and equipped with MiG-29K fighters. During his recent visit to India last week, Russian Prime Minister Viktor A Zubkov is understood to have discussed the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amid reports that New Delhi is willing to cough up up to $600 million extra. Moscow has last week threatened to walk out of the deal over the ongoing price dispute. Delhi had termed it as a blackmailing tactic by Moscow. ================================ New Delhi, Feb. 27: India has offered to send an army of workers from its shipyards to Russia to help salvage the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier it contracted for its navy four years ago for $1.5 billion. The unprecedented offer to send the workers was made because the Indian Navy is all at sea with worries that the absence of the carrier will impact on its force levels. IndiaÂ’s only carrier, the INS Viraat, is due to be decommissioned by the time the Gorshkov is readied. Its indigenous air-defence ship, now being made at Kochi, would also not be available before the middle of the next decade at the earliest. The Gorshkov is all but grounded at RussiaÂ’s Sevmash shipyard where a shortage of labour has combined with slothful procedures to disrupt the delivery schedule. The earliest the Indian Navy can look forward to having the ship is 2012, four years behind the agreed timeline. To compound the navyÂ’s problems, Moscow has also demanded an additional $1.2 billion. The offer to send nearly 500 Indian workers and technicians to Sevmash was made by defence secretary Vijay Singh during a visit to Russia as the head of a delegation last week. | |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #5 I'll have an aircraft carrier before the Indian's get this one... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-02-28 20:22 |
| #4 India should buy and old oil tanker. Next create a flight deck and catapult for UACVs. Add UACVs. Done. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-02-28 14:43 |
| #3 Bet the Indian workers don't get paid out of the extra 1 Billion. |
| Posted by: danking70 2008-02-28 12:17 |
| #2 Russia has also told India that the aircraft carrier will not be delivered before 2012, |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-02-28 11:03 |
| #1 "SQUASH IT" U.S. defense officials, however, denied a report that India wanted the United States to give it the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier in exchange for New Delhi's agreement to purchase American F-18 fighters. "Squash it," one senior official, speaking en route to New Delhi, said of the report. "I will fall on my sword, I will hurl myself out of this airplane if there is any truth to this stupid story." |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-02-28 10:59 |