Nerpa next month, Gorshkov by Dec 2012

India and Russia managed to iron out some differences over delay in the supply of spares and put their defence ties on the even track during Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s visit to Russia in early October. The nuclear submarine Nerpa and the much-awaited INS Vikramaditya will be heading to India shortly.

• Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s recent visit to Russia has given a fresh impetus to the decades-old defence ties between the two countries. Antony struck all the right notes: he honoured the World War II veterans by laying wreath at the memorial and travelled to Zhukovsky in the Moscow region where he saw a demonstration of prototypes for the fifth-generation T-50-1 and T-50-2 fighter jets.
  
  
  The highlight of his visit was delegation-level talks with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov on a host of issues aimed at exploring fresh avenues for military cooperation and resolving some irritants, like the constant Indian complaint about the delay in the supply of spare parts. The two sides decided to strengthen interactions between their armed forces, defence industry enterprises and research agencies. They also signed a protocol for the development of bilateral relations and military and technical cooperation between the two countries.
  
  
  High on Antony's agenda was the creation of a joint project of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA, which has the potential to become the largest joint defence programme between the two countries in the years to come. Antony expressed willingness to spend about $35 billion over 20 years to induct 250-300 FGFA's starting from 2020, of which 214 will enter the service first. The talks touched upon the forthcoming 10-year lease of the K-152 Nerpa multi-role nuclear submarine which will be transferred to the command of an Indian crew by December this year.
  
  
  The two sides also discussed the plan to transfer the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (known as Admiral Gorshkov in Russia) to the Indian Navy which, according to sources, will happen in 2012. The aircraft carrier is already more than 85 percent complete. The prospects for expanding bilateral military and technical cooperation were also discussed. “Our bilateral military-technical cooperation is now on the even track,” said Antony at the end of the talks.
  
  
  In addition, Russian negotiators noted that Antony made it a point to bring up problems such as delays in the delivery schedule and failures on the Russian side to supply military equipment, weapons and spare parts on time. In particular, they talked about the latest postponement of the transfer of three Talwar class Type 1135.6 frigates to the Indian Navy.  This issue had triggered a spate of negative commentaries and reportage in the Indian media.
  
  
  The delivery contract for three frigates (Teg, Tarkash and Trikand) worth $1.5 billion was signed in 2006. Under the agreement, Rosoboronexport should have delivered the first ship in April 2011, the second in October 2011, and the third in April 2012. Now, in accordance with the amended delivery schedule, India will receive the Teg in April 2012, the Tarkash in September 2012, and the Trikand in June 2013. But nobody can guarantee that these terms will not change.
  
  
  All guarantees on the part of the Indian government have been made, they were even secured in a special agreement, but life is life - not once in the last twenty years has Russia managed to deliver a ship on time. This includes the first batch of Indian Talwar frigates, which was built in St Petersburg's Baltic Shipyard at the beginning of this century. However, when these ships were completed and inducted, they became the pride of the Indian Navy.
  
  
  According to Serdyukov, issues regarding the resumption of joint training exercises for Indian and Russian sailors, as well as joint exercises for soldiers and special commando units were raised.
  
  
  “The Navy's General Staff is preparing such exercises as we speak and is calculating the necessary forces and means,” said Serdyukov. “Once everything is ready, we will make an agreement with our Indian counterparts and announce the dates for these manoeuvres. They are extremely useful for us."