India has moved closer to finalise a deal of four advanced warships for the Indian Navy with Russia. The price for two of the naval vessels which are to be bought directly from Russia has been finalized at $1.1 billion, while the price negotiations for the remaining two warships to be manufactured at Goa Shipyard under ‘Make in India’ model is under progress. The Defence Ministry is pushing hard to close the deal at the earliest.
The four state-of-art warships to be inducted by the Indian Navy will enhance its blue water capabilities as these naval vessels will be equipped with the Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles. After negotiatons during defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Russia visit, Russian material is to be supplied to the Goa Shipyards at around USD 200 million. The Indian negotiators will also get 18 per cent discount in the contract. The first two frigates will be built in Yantar Shipyard, in Kaliningrad, Russia, while the remaining two will be built in Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).
A Russian team had come for price negotiations during the DefExpo 2018 held in Chennai. The discussions are still in progress. The defence minister visited Russia earlier this month to discuss multiple military programmes.
The Indian Navy is to operate 10 Krivak III class frigates. Six warships of Krivak class are already in operation. The first three warships were inducted between June 2003 and April 2004, while the next group of three warships was commissioned between April 2012 and June 2013. India is expecting to finalise the price by the next couple of months.
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