India has conveyed to Russia its concern over delays in supply of spares from the country for military equipment.
Taking up the issue in Moscow, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said the delays in export clearances for vital repair equipment had been affecting supplies of equipment and spares.
Over the past few months, India had floated tenders for supply of spares for its fleet of fighter aircraft of erstwhile Soviet origin, including the MiG series, besides radars and missiles. The Russian side had assured the Indian delegation that the matter was receiving attention at the highest levels of its government and efforts would be made to institutionalise measures so that such delays could be avoided.
Mr. Antony, who returned here on Wednesday night after a three-day visit to Moscow, had reviewed defence ties at the 11th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Technical Cooperation along with his Russian counterpart, A.E. Serdyukov. He expressed the hope that aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) would be delivered as scheduled by the end of next year.
Waiting on the weather
(According to reports, the aircraft carrier has undergone harbour trials and is awaiting sea trails. However, much would depend on the weather in the region since it turns extremely cold from October.)
Defence Ministry spokesman, Sitanshu Kar told The Hindu on Thursday that both sides expressed “readiness to take all necessary steps to expand the cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis.”
In a protocol signed after the meeting, both sides noted with satisfaction that that during the last one year, steps were taken “to deepen interaction in the development of defence technologies, modernisation of military equipment and joint manufacture of military-purpose products.”
Mr. Antony also expressed concern at the tardy progress made in the design and development of Multi-Role Transport Aircraft. Both sides agreed to accelerate its progress and decided to schedule a meeting later this month.
As regards Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), being jointly designed and developed by India and Russia, both sides noted that while the first stage of preliminary design contract was complete, the second stage should be finalised before September next year. They also agreed to continue discussions for finalisation of the research and development contract as per the agreed time lines of the general contract signed in December, 2008.
Overall, Mr. Antony said India-Russia defence relationship had grown both in content and scope over the years and underscored that New Delhi valued its time-tested, strong and multi- faceted relationship with Moscow.
