New Delhi, Oct 9 (Inditop.com) The roadblocks in finalising the price tag for the refurbishment of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov are likely to be discussed during Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s three-day visit to Russia next week.
Antony, who leaves for Russia Oct 13, will be attending the ninth meeting of the India-Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation.
“The issue (Gorshkov price rise) is likely to come up during the discussions,” said defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar.
The deal for Gorshkov was signed in 2004 for approximately $948 million. The project hit the headlines in 2007 as the delivery date was pushed back and the Russians increased the price.
The two sides have been carrying on price negotiations for over a year. India is unwilling to pay what it considers an unreasonable escalation that has nearly doubled the cost of the aircraft carrier.
According to senior officials involved in the negotiations with Russia, the new quoted price of the aircraft carrier fluctuates between $2.2 billion and $2.9 billion and Moscow may come around to the lower price to accommodate New Delhi.
Antony will meet his Russian counterpart A.E. Serdyukov to discuss other military technical issues as well – including the extension of the India-Russia Long Term Inter-Governmental Agreement on Military Technical Cooperation for another 10 years from 2011 to 2020.
“India and Russia had concluded in December 1998 an agreement, which envisaged a programme for defence cooperation between the two countries up to the year 2010. Both sides have, since, been working towards finalising the programme for defence cooperation beyond 2011,” Kar added.
The extension of the programme had also been discussed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in 2007. The discussion between the defence ministers may pave way for the conclusion of the agreement when Manmohan Singh visits Russia in December 2009 to meet President Dmitry Medvedev.
Among the other issues to be discussed will be indigenous production of T-90 tanks, joint venture BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, development of hypersonic cruise missiles Brahmos-2, fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and multi-role transport aircraft.
“The modernisation of frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets will come up for discussion as the aircraft are due for overhaul shortly and Moscow has offered an upgrade of the aircraft with incorporation of the latest technologies.
“The continuation of the joint venture BrahMos is also likely to be discussed, in the context of the ongoing discussion for the development of the next generation hypersonic cruise missiles BrahMos-2 and the ongoing proposal to fit the BrahMos with the SU 30 MKI,” Kar added.
The co-development and co-production of the FGFA with Sukhoi Design Bureau Russia has been progressing. Several rounds of discussion have been completed to finalise the technical requirements.
“During his meeting with the Russian defence minister, Antony would highlight New Delhi’s interest in ensuring the completion of the development phase of the FGFA by 2016 and induction into the Indian Air Force by 2017.”
The defence minister will be accompanied by Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar and other senior officials of the defence ministry and the armed forces.
