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India, Russia finally agree on Admiral Gorshkov price issue | India and Russia have reportedly reached a final agreement on the sale of the Russia-manufactured aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov or the INS Vikramaditya. According to top
government
sources, both countries have mutually reached an agreement and that a ‘satisfactory
price tag has been agreed upon. The pricing of Admiral Gorshkov, which Russia
is refurbishing, has become a diplomatic tug of war between India and China .
Sources said that the Admiral Gorshkov was festering wound which is being healed
and a deal will be inked in the next few days Initially, Russia had asked India
to pay under a billion US dollars, but eventually the cost inflated upto 2.9 billion
dollars, which is almost three times the orignal cost. In fact, the Comptroller
and Auditor General (CAG) of India , in its report, had even censured the Government
of India for paying the extra price for the carrier which is to be delivered by
2012. Negotiations over the final pricing have been going on for quite some time,
and both sides have finally arrived at a figure of 2.6 billion US dollars, the
sources said. The purchase of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft was finalized during the
visit of the then Russian Defence Minister to India in January 2004. The CAG’s
recent report observed that the second-hand carrier would be 60 percent more costly
than a new one and that there is a risk of further delay in its delivery. The
original deal signed in 2004, asked India to pay 1.5 billion dollars for the vessel,
of this, 948 million dollars was to be spent on refitting the 45,000 tonne vessel
and the balance was to be used for purchasing MiG-29 combat jets and Kamov
anti-submarine
warfare helicopters to be deployed on the ship. The CAG report also pointed out
that the carrier would have limited operational capabilities and certain key capabilities
which would enable it to meet potential threats or challenges had either not been
provided for or have been postponed to a later date. The report said that the
anti-aircraft missile complex selected to be fitted in the ship failed during
the trials and the refurbishment contract was concluded without the missile system.
The CAG also expressed its concern over the ship not having a Close-In Weapon
System (CIWS) which is a vital shipboard weapon for detecting and destroying incoming
anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft at short range until her first refit in
India in 2017. The carrier was earlier scheduled to have been delivered in 2008. |
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