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Russia will deliver the modernized Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to the Indian Navy in 2012, a senior shipbuilding industry official has said."Under an agreement with India, the aircraft will be delivered in 2012. Almost 2,000 highly-qualified workers are currently involved in the overhaul [of the ship]," Vladimir Pakhomov, the president of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation, said in an interview published on Tuesday with the Vremya Novostei newspaper."We will increase the number of workers and speed up the work, making sure that it does not affect the quality. We are continuing talks with Indian officials about the additional financing of the project," he added.The original $750 million 2004 contract between Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy envisioned that work on the aircraft carrier would be completed in 2008.However, Russia later claimed it had underestimated the scale and the cost of the modernization and demanded an additional $1.2 billion, which New Delhi said was "exorbitant."After long-running delays and disputes, Russia and India agreed in February 2008 to raise retrofit costs for the aircraft carrier, docked at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia for the past 12 years, by at least $800 million.The current contract covers a complete overhaul of the ship and equipping it with modern weaponry, including MiG-29K Fulcrum aircraft and Ka-27 Helix-A and Ka-31 Helix-B anti-submarine helicopters.The Admiral Gorshkov carrier, renamed the Vikramaditya, is to replace India's INS Viraat carrier, which, although currently operational, is now 50 years old.After modernization, the carrier is expected to be seaworthy for 30 years. 
3 comments:
this carrier is still pretty cheap even after cost escalation which comes out to be around
$750 million(intial)+$ 1.2 billion(additional)=
$ 2 billion
moreover russians employing
new propellers and propeller shafts
new marine gas turbines
new diesel engines
new auxilliary power systems
new electrical system and whole new wiring
new boilers
new air conditioning and refregeration systems
new radars and combat system
new communication systems and control systems
new arresting wires
refurbishment of residential area
and after all this is done then sea trials which will last 16 months
and doing all this isn't easy ,on this ship everything else except hull will be new,and this makes ship to be used for 40 years
india paid $ 1.5 billion for 3 krivak frigates inducted in 2003-04 and combined weight of those frigates is over 11000 tons ,and weight of gorshkov is 44000 tons
so if 11000 tons of metal cost $ 1.5 billion than buying 44000 tons ship surely cost more than $ 750 million intially paid to russians and thats why russians asking more 1.2 billion is justified
just see aussies paying $ 8 billion for 3 destroyers with aegis system
To be honest I think that if we weight advantages with cost Indian navy should support this project but will Russia stop at 2b$ is key question?
russian will stop at less than $ 2 billion because there are other military contracts which are definitely more lucatative than this
russians asked $ 1.2 billion more but i don't see indian govt. paying this much ,it should be $750-800 million extra so the ship will cost
$ 1.5-1.6 billion
if indian govt. pays $ 1.2 billionthen
$1.2 billion+$ 750 million(intial payment)
=$ 1.9billion(after cost escalation)
this is also not much for a ship which will be used for 40 years
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