October 31, 200817 yr From Flight International DATE: 31/10/08 SOURCE: Flight International India rejects Russian aircraft carrier price demand By Radhakrishna Rao India's finance ministry has for the second time rejected a proposal from the nation's defence ministry to approve an additional $1.2 billion in funds to complete a retrofit project to the decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. Moscow had originally agreed to deliver the modernised vessel for $1.5 billion, but demanded the additional payment after citing factors including an underestimation of the level of work required at its Sevmash shipbuilding yard. India, which has already paid Russia two-thirds of the original programme cost, has made no further payments since January 2007, and the 44,500t carrier's expected delivery date has slipped from 2009 until at least 2012. The finance ministry's latest decision also stemmed from a request to allocate $60 million to perform sea trials of the refurbished vessel during 2011. The Indian navy has ordered 12 RSK MiG-29K fighters and four MiG-29KUB trainers to operate from the ex-Russian navy ship.
February 24, 200917 yr Author From Defence Talk Indian Navy Stunned By Latest Russian Demand For Gorschkov Forecast International | Feb 24, 2009 NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy has been stunned by a Russian demand for an additional $700 million payment for the completion of the reconstruction of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. This brings the total demanded by the Russians to $2.9 billion, more than three times the originally-contracted price and a truly outrageous sum by any international standards. In addition to this latest demand, the Russians have confirmed that the ship will not be completed until 2012, four years later than originally planned. These latest demands come as a savage blow to the Indian delegation that was planning to negotiate over the original Russian demand for an additional $1.2 billion. The delegation was hoping to find some middle ground over this extra demand but the new imposition seems to end any such hopes. India has already paid $500 million as per terms of the initial contract. The Russian delegation has said that regardless of the outcome of this round of negotiations, Sevmarsh wants an immediate payment of $190 million to continue work that's underway. To put these sums and times into context, India could purchase a new carrier from the U.K. or France for $2.9 billion and probably get it delivered as quickly as the Russians are proposing. The sum demanded by the Russians in unconscionably high for a ship that is already twenty years old, had been laid up for a decade and has suffered damage from at least two serious on-board fires. The rapidly escalating cost of rebuilding this ship can also be seen as an admission of the ship's bad condition after this long period of neglect. A logical Indian response to this latest demand would be to tell the Russians that they can keep their hulk and either find a new supplier or accelerate the Indian indigenous aircraft carrier program. While the progress on that program has been slow and the date of completion has now been pushed to 2014-15, directing $2.9 billion of additional funding into that effort could well serve to accelerate progress nicely. Alternatively, there are plenty of shipyards that could build a new carrier for the same sum. What really matters now is whether the Indian Navy will be so scandalized by these latest demands that it will be politically possible for them to walk away from the Gorschkov. Undoubtedly, doing so would be the sensible course of action. After all, there is an old naval adage that is very relevant: "Reconstruction Never Pays." [CV32: A tip for the Russians: Do you not want to sell 126 MiG-35s (or anything else) to India? ]
February 24, 200917 yr Wonder if there are other factors in play, maybe china doesn't want India to have the ship and is leaning on Russia. seems kinda fishy for them to be such *** about the money and the time frame till completion is ridiculous.
February 24, 200917 yr Author Meanwhile ... From the The Hindu With Russia hiking Gorshkov price, India goes for indigenous carrier New Delhi (IANS): As Russia continues escalating the price for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov much to the chagrin of the defence establishment here, India is all set for the keel laying of its first indigenous carrier for which Rs.3,260 crore (Rs.32.60 billion/$654 million) has initially been allocated. The keel will be laid at the Cochin Shipyard on Feb 28. [CV32: Emphasis mine] "The present sanction for the construction of the aircraft carrier under Project-71 (as it is technically named) is Rs.3,260 crore (Rs.32.60 billion)," a defence source said. However, this is likely to rise considerably, given the history of India's indigenous defence projects. For instance, Rs.150 million were initially allocated for the Arjun main battle tank that has been almost four decades in the making and which has so far cost Rs.3.5 billion. The carrier, with a 40,000-tonne displacement, will be ready to sail by 2011. It is not only the first military warship to be built at Cochin Shipyard but also the largest military vessel to be constructed at any Indian yard. "The aircraft carrier will be a big boost for the shipbuilding capability of the country. We will become the fourth nation besides the US, Russia and France to have the capability of building a carrier," an Indian Navy official told IANS. Britain also the capability to build carriers but these are now in shambles. "Work on the construction of the aircraft carrier started in 2006. It required nearly 300 people working on the ship designing for 2-3 years. It will be a spin-off for the industry because steel, lagging material, generators and other things are indigenous," the official added. The building of a ship can be divided into seven phases: design, construction planning, work prior to keel laying, ship erection, launching, final outfitting, and sea trials. What makes the carrier special is that it is built with steel produced by state-owned SAIL (Steel Authority of India ltd.) The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) are also involved in the project. India, which plans to operate three aircraft carriers by 2015, is also purchasing the Admiral Gorshkov, which was built in 1987. However, the deal has sparked a lot of controversy as Russia now is demanding a staggering $2.9 billion, which is almost twice as much as was originally agreed on. "India needs the Gorshkov to replace (its sole aircraft carrier) INS Viraat, which is currently undergoing refurbishment. We were expecting a price hike of $300-400 million during the refit in Russia of the Gorshkov but we were stunned when Russia proposed a cost escalation of $1.2 billion in 2007," another senior navy official said. That pushed up the cost from Rs.1.5 billion to $2.7 billion and the Russians are now demanding $2.9 billion.
February 25, 200917 yr Author Wonder if there are other factors in play, maybe china doesn't want India to have the ship and is leaning on Russia. seems kinda fishy for them to be such *** about the money and the time frame till completion is ridiculous. One always wonders about the backchannel politics but I think in this case China probably doesn't have the influence it would like, even if it were vehemently opposed to India gaining a "new" carrier. The Chinese are building a lot of their own stuff these days, and it seems like everything Russia sold to them has been used as a template for reverse engineering.
February 25, 200917 yr Author *psst* Want to buy a Kitty Hawk? Hehe, indeed. Though reportedly Kitty Hawk isn't in great shape either.
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