India To Sign S-400 Missile Deal During Vladimir Putin’s Visit Next Week

Russian servicemen drive S-400 missile air defence systems during the Victory Day parade, at Red Square in Moscow.(Reuters/File Photo)

Hindustan Times: Amid US sanctions, India set to sign S-400 missile deal during Vladimir Putin’s visit next week

India will sign the S-400 missile system deal with Russia during the annual summit between PM Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin next week, hoping for a US sanction waiver, and to prevent Russia from directly selling weapon systems to Pakistan if India says no to the deal.

India will sign the S-400 missile system deal with Russia during the annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin next week, hoping that it has done enough business with the US to secure a waiver from sanctions, and to prevent Russia from directly selling weapon systems to Pakistan if India says no to the deal.

Hindustan Times had first reported in April that the deal would be signed during the October summit and, in May, that New Delhi would go ahead with the purchase despite US sanctions against countries buying arms from Russia.

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WNU Editor: Pakistan is raising its objections .... Russia-India S-400 air defence systems deal problematic: Pakistan (The Nation).

More News On India's Agreement To Purchase Russia's S-400 Missile System

India approves S-400 buy from Russia, amid expectations for more bilateral deals -- Defense News/AP
India Likely To Sign $6 Billion Missile Deal During Putin Visit Next Week -- NDTV/Bloomberg
India finalizes S-400 Russian air defense missile system deal -- Army Recognition
Defense Deals Worth $10Bln on the Cards During India-Russia Annual Summit -- Sputnik

India Willing To Pay Billions For Russia's Military 'Crown Jewels'

Russian S-400 Triumph medium-range and long-range surface-to-air missile systems during the Victory Day parade at Red Square in Moscow, May 9, 2015 © Sergey Karpukhin / Reuters

RT: India seeks Russia's 'crown jewels' in biggest arms deal of the decade

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday following the approval of the biggest arms deal with Russia since 2001.
India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) last week agreed the purchase of five S-400 air defense systems from Russia.


The S-400 systems are among the ‘crown jewels’ of Russia’s defense capability, Jon Grevatt Asia-Pacific defense industry analyst for IHS Jane’s, told Bloomberg.

"Russia and India have a very strong partnership that the US can only aspire to," said Grevatt. "Sales from America may ebb and flow, but the sales from Russia will remain strong because there are so many ongoing programs between the two countries."

WNU Editor: Russia was first unwilling to sell the S-400 to foreign buyers. Like America's F-22 .... the technology is a game changer in any conflict. But something has changed in Moscow .... it is now OK to sell these weapon platforms ... and they are eager to do so. As to the reason why .... I can only presume that it is for money, and to cement diplomatic ties with critically important countries like Indian.

More News On India To Spend Billions On Acquiring Russian Weapon Systems

Modi Seeks Russian Crown Jewel in Decade's Biggest Defense Deal -- Bloomberg
India's Modi Eyes Russia's "Crown Jewels" in Defense Spending Spree -- Fortune
India To Pay $4.5 Billion For Putin's "Jewels" In Largest Defense Deal In A Decade -- Zero Hedge
PM Modi Russia visit: Red carpet welcome for Modi; key deals to be sealed -- Indian Express
In Russia, Indian PM Looks to Close Major Defense Deals -- The Diplomat
Narendra Modi in Russia: Defense Deals Possible -- WSJ
PM Modi Arrives in Moscow to Attend 16th India-Russia Annual Summit -- Indian Express
Modi in Moscow: Can oil, defence, and nuclear energy still bring India and Russia closer?​ -- Kabir Taneja, Quartz

Do Not Buy Your Aircraft Carrier From Russia

Don't Buy Your Aircraft Carrier From Russia -- Kyle Mizokami, Real Clear Defense/War Is Boring

India learned the hard way with INS Vikramaditya

Like a lot of countries, India wants the best weapons it can afford. But ideological and financial concerns mean there are a lot of things it won’t buy from the United States or Europe. That pretty much leaves, well, Russia.

India has been a big buyer of Russian weapons for 50 years. Those haven’t been easy years for New Delhi. India’s defense contracts with Russia have consistently suffered delays and cost overruns. And the resulting hardware doesn’t always work.

Of all India’s Russian procurement woes, none speak more to the dysfunctional relationship between the two countries than the saga of INS Vikramaditya. In the early 2000s, India went shopping for a new aircraft carrier. What followed was a military-industrial nightmare.

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My Comment: What you pay is what you get .... and if you pay cheap expect something cheap in return. An aircraft carrier for under $1 billion .... who were they kidding. On a side note .... it is good to know that when it comes to military procurement .... the U.S. is not the only country that sometimes has problems.

India Finally Gets Their Aircraft Carrier From Russia Five Years late

India’s New Flagship: Russia Hands Over Modernized Aircraft Carrier To New Delhi -- RT

The Indian Navy has received the 44,500-ton Vikramaditya aircraft carrier at the Russian shipbuilding complex in Severodvinsk. The much awaited carrier was fully refurbished for US$2.3 billion, and will now become India’s game-changing flagship.

Russian deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Indian Defense Minister AK Antony attended the handing over ceremony at the Sevmash shipyard of the northern Arctic port city, along with other senior government and naval officials of the two countries.

During the ceremony, a Russian flag on the vessel was lowered, and the flag of the Indian Navy was raised in its place. This was followed by a traditional Indian ritual, in which a coconut was smashed against the ship’s side. The ship’s new captain, Suraj Berry, and the deputy director of Russia’s arms export agency Rosoboronexport, Igor Sevastyanov, signed the final handover papers.

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More News On India Receiving The 44,500-Ton Vikramaditya Aircraft Carrier

Russia Passes Refitted Aircraft Carrier to India After 5-Year Delay -- RIA Novosti
Russia hands India long-awaited aircraft carrier -- Global Post/AFP
Indian Navy gets INS Vikramaditya as it seeks to bolster defence capabilities -- Times of India
Indian navy gets Russian carrier as it seeks to bolster military -- Reuters
Russia delivers super aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya to India -- NDTV
INS Vikramaditya was spied upon by NATO aircraft and ship last year but the matter was hushed up -- India Today
Russia ships carrier to India five years late -- Al Jazeera
India buys third aircraft carrier amid rivalry with China -- The Guardian
Indian Navy Gets Russian Ship After Years of Delays -- Maritime Executive
Can India afford to run INS Vikramaditya, asks Pakistani daily -- Business Standard
Soviet-Era Aircraft Carrier Buoys India Navy In Race With China -- Donald Kirk, Forbes

Russia And India Agree To A $3bn Arms Deal

India, Russia Seal Defense Deals Worth Billions -- Voice of America

NEW DELHI — India and Russia have sealed defense deals worth billions of dollars during a visit by the Russian president, in a move which reaffirms the long-standing strategic alliance between the two countries.

Calling Russia a key partner in the effort to modernize India's armed forces, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the deal to buy 71 military helicopters worth $1.3 billion, and kits to assemble 42 Sukhoi fighter jets worth $1.6 billion.

India and Russia were close allies during the Cold War days, with Moscow being the main supplier of India’s armed forces. But analysts say Russia has been losing out on India’s lucrative defense market in recent years, as New Delhi increasingly hands out contracts to countries such as Israel, France and the United States, establishing closer links with many Western countries.

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More News On The Russia -- India Arms Agreement

Russia Seals Major Arms Deal with India -- RIA Novosti
Russia signs $3bn arms deals with India -- RT
Russia, India Sign Weapons Deals Worth Billions -- NPR/AP
India to Buy 42 Fighter Jets, 71 Helicopters From Russia -- Wall Street Journal
Putin Concludes $3 Billion Aircraft Deals With India -- Radio Free Europe
Putin Signs $2.9 Billion Indian Deals in Trip to Top Arms Buyer -- Bloomberg Businessweek
India and Russia sign new defense deals -- Deutsche Welle
Russia to sell military aircraft to India -- Deutsche Welle
Putin steps up arms sales to India -- Al Jazeera
India, Russia ink military deals worth $2.9 billion -- Business Recorder
Defence deals are the takeaway as Indo-Russian summit in Capital is forced to move due to rape protests -- Daily Mail
FACTBOX - Russia and India's defence ties -- Reuters

Did Russia Use Sex To Sell An Aircraft Carrier To India?

The Admiral Gorshkov under construction.
Image from Asian Defense

Russian Honey-Trap May Have Affected Aircraft Carrier Deal With India -- Intel News

The recent court disclosure of an Indian engineer’s affair with a Russian woman has added fresh controversy in a multi-billion dollar deal gone sour between Russia and India, over the purchase of an aircraft carrier. In 2004, India purchased Admiral Gorshkov, a Soviet-built, 45,000-ton warship, for $974 million. But the negotiations between the two countries over the refit and repair project quickly deteriorated, with Sevmash Enterprise, the Russian shipyard in charge of the project, hiking the price twice in less than three years. At the end of fierce negotiations that scarred the bilateral defense relationship between the two countries, the Indian Navy was forced to pay in excess of $2.3 billion for the 30-year-old warship. In recent weeks, however, a series of explicit photographs were circulated, showing an unidentified Russian woman with Commodore Sukhjinder Singh, an Indian engineer whom the Indian Navy stationed in Russia and tasked him with overseeing Admiral Gorshkov’s refit from 2005 to 2007.

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My Comment: Sighhh .... we men are so weak.

Hmmmm .... one has to wonder if other sales have been managed in the same manner.

Be Wary Of Gifts Form Russia

'Admiral Gorshkov'

Soviet Warship Turns Into India's White Elephant -- AFP

NEW DELHI — When Russia gave India a retired Soviet aircraft carrier five years ago, New Delhi was delighted -- little realising the vessel would turn into a costly white elephant.

Russia, India's longtime weapons supplier, said in 2004 it would give the country the 44,570-tonne "Admiral Gorshkov" as a gift, provided Delhi paid a Russian shipyard 974 million dollars to refurbish the carrier.

Since then, the price has skyrocketed for fixing up the 27-year-old ship, which was decommissioned after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Update: India, Russia may agree cost of overhauling the aircraft carrier -- Defense Talk

My Comment: Ouch .... I am sure that this is never going to happen again.

Russian Aircraft Carrier Overruns And Delays

Aircraft Carrier Admiral Gorshkov

India Rejects Russian Aircraft Carrier Price Demand
-- Flight Global

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.

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My Comment: The U.S. is not the only country that has cost overrun problems. (But I am still not reassured by this news).