Russia, India agree to sign new deal on aircraft carrier overhaul

Dubai: Russia will soon sign a new deal with India on additional funds to finish a refit of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Sunday.
"The negotiations were uneasy but the Indian side treated with understanding the existing problems. They recognized the need to additionally finance the contract and in the near future this will be formalized," Mikhail Zavaliy, Rosoboronexport director for special missions said at a major air show in the Middle East.
The Dubai Air Show is running on November 15-19 in the United Arab Emirates. Over 900 companies from about 50 countries, including 24 Russian firms, take part in the event.
Under the original $1.5 billion 2004 contract between Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy, which includes delivery of MiG-29K Fulcrum carrier-based fighters, the work on the aircraft carrier was to have been completed in 2008.
However, Russia later claimed it had underestimated the scale and the cost of the modernization, and asked for an additional $1.2 billion, which New Delhi said was "exorbitant."
After long-running delays and disputes, India offered in February 2008 to raise the refit costs for the aircraft carrier, docked at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia for the past 12 years, by up to $600 million.
16/11/09 RIA Novosti

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Dubai Airshow 2009