Russia is significantly toughening conditions for the sales of the vessel, which originally was to be handed over the Indian Navy in 2008. A contract on the sales of the Admiral Gorskov was signed in 2004. However, the Russian shipyard has been unable to complete the vessel in line with contract time period and contract price.
Now, the Russians demand more time and 2 billion USD extra money for the job. The new contract conditions spark speculations that Russia might actually try to keep the vessel in its own fleet.
According to Russian defence plans, the country will need to build several aircraft carriers over the next ten years. The sales of the Admiral Gorshkov to India come highly inconvenient for the current Russian defence establishment.
According to The Times of India, the Indian government is willing to pay “substantially more” for the 44,570-tonne Gorshkov, which is crucial to its plan of having two operational `carrier battle-groups’ by the middle of the next decade. However, the 2 billion USD cost escalation which is being quoted by Russia is proving a little hard to swallow, the newspaper writes.
Analysts say that Russia is “arm-twisting” India on the matter.
Under the original deal, India was to get a fully-refurbished Gorshkov — renamed INS Vikramaditya after India paid an initial 500 million USD — with 16 MiG-29K fighters by August 2008. Russian Embassador to India, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, says to The Times of India that cost escalation is unavoidable due to the “rise in prices of everything”, while denying Russia was trying to squeeze India on the matter.
Russian progress with aircraft carrier 24 October 2008
Aircraft carrier to be ready after 2011 10 September 2008
Why does Russia need new aircraft carriers? 30 July 2008
