New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) Defence Minister A.K. Antony will be on a three-day visit to Russia next week when the two sides are expected to discuss progress of their joint defence projects, including the fifth generation fighter, ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit later this year.
Antony will leave New Delhi for Moscow on Oct 3 and will be there till Oct 5, a defence ministry release said here Friday.
During the visit, Antony will co-chair the 11th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) with his Russian counterpart Anatoly E. Serdyukov.
Antony will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, Secretary (Defence Production) Shekhar Aggarwal, Lt. Gen. M.S. Buttar, Air Marshal R.K. Sharma, Vice Admiral N.N. Kumar, Chief Controller of Defence Research and Development Organisation Avinash Chander, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited chairman and managing director Ashok Nayak and Director General (Acquisition) Vivek Ray.
Besides regional and global security issues, the two sides will also review the progress of important ongoing projects such as the refit of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier (renamed INS Vikramaditya), delivery of Talwar class frigates and progress on the Multi-Role Transport Aircraft.
The two sides will also deliberate upon aspects relating to licensed manufacture and maintenance of T-90 main battle tanks and Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat jets in India, the release said.
‘The Russian side will offer a glance of the upcoming fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) by holding a test flight for the benefit of Antony and his delegation,’ the release added.
The two countries have signed an agreement for the joint design, development and production of FGFA involving the Sukhoi Design Bureau on the Russian side and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on the Indian side.
In the run up to the IRGC-MTC meeting, seven sub-groups and two working groups covering all areas of military technical cooperation between the two countries have met and discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to equipment and technology transfer and product support.
