Antony's Moscow visit to seal important defence agreements

New Delhi: It's time for the Adm Gorshkov kite to fly again, preceding a three-day visit of defence minister AK Antony to Moscow next week. Once again official sources have expressed confidence that the final re-negotiated price will be settled for good this time around.

Indian defence minister AK Antony

It may be useful to remember that the previous navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had asserted in July that the deal for the Gorshkov would be finalised ''in days'' even as a high-powered Russian delegation was in New Delhi. Nothing came of that assertion, however.

For the record, defence minister, AK Antony, will visit Moscow on a three day official visit beginning 13 October to attend the ninth meeting of the India-Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC).

The IRIGC-MTC meets annually, alternately in India and Russia, and is chaired by the two defence ministers who review and discuss matters relating to the bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

Russian defence minister AE Serdyukov

The meeting to be held on 14-15 October will be chaired by Antony from the Indian side and by the Russian defence minister, AE Serdyukov, from the Russian side.

According to Indian sources, extending the life of the IRIGC-MTC for a further 10 years, from 2011 to 2020, will be the main focus of discussions during the meeting of the commission.

The discussions on this issue is expected to pave the way for concluding the extension during Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh's forthcoming visit to Russia in December 2009. This will be a summit meet between him and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

Both sides will also discuss production of the Russian origin T-90S tanks at the Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, under license from Russia, as it is providing technical and product support for the local production of these tanks.

The modernisation of the Su-30MKI aircraft will also be a topic for discussion as these aircraft, contracted in 1996, are due for overhaul and the Russian side have offered an upgrade that will involve incorporation of latest technologies.

The continuation of the Indo-Russian joint venture, BrahMos, will also be taken up for discussion even as development of the next generation, hypersonic cruise missile, the BrahMos-2, and the on-going programme to develop an air-launched version of the BrahMos is already underway.

Also under discussion will be the joint design and development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) and the Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA). The co-development and co-production of the FGFA with Sukhoi Design Bureau has been progressing with several rounds of discussion already completed aimed at finalizing technical requirements.

The Indian side is likely to emphasize that the development phase of the FGFA has to be completed by 2016, as originally envisaged and that induction of the futuristic aircraft into the Indian Air Force should start by 2017.

Both sides will also review progress on the MTA, and discuss formation of a joint venture company which would execute the project. The Medium Transport Aircraft is expected to be in the 15-20 tonne class and will be developed to meet requirements of both the Russian and Indian Armed Forces. Both sides are likely to conclude an agreement to form a JVC.

Antony's delegation will include defence secretary Pradeep Kumar, secretary (defence production) RK Singh, DG (acquisition) SK Sharma, senior officials of DRDO, ministry and the armed forces.

A protocol incorporating the various aspects of current and future Indo-Russian bilateral defence cooperation will be signed at the conclusion of the meeting.