India's Soviet-era carrier arrives six years late

[bananas]

Source: Agence France-Presse

A refurbished former Soviet aircraft carrier arrived Wednesday in India six years late, ending a wrangle that strained ties with the country's top arms supplier Russia.

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A preliminary pact for refurbishing the vessel was signed in 1998 -- two years after the Kremlin mothballed the 44,500-ton carrier.

It took six years for the two sides to reach a final agreement that valued the deal at $771 million and stipulated delivery in 2008.

But the cost of refitting the 284-metre (937-foot) ship ballooned to $2.3 billion, according to Indian officials. Deadlines were repeatedly extended, creating a bitter wrangle with Russia.

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India's navy suffered a severe blow in August last year when a Russian-made submarine, the INS Sindhurakshak, exploded while docked in Mumbai and killed all 18 crewmen aboard.

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Read more: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Indias_Soviet-era_carrier_arrives_six_years_late_999.html

[SCVDem]

1. This piece of crap is supposed to scare China?

Just paint a bullseye on it or sink it yourself.

[bananas]

2. It gets worse: Aborted defence deal underlines India's procurement problem

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Aborted_defence_deal_underlines_Indias_procurement_problem_999.html

Aborted defence deal underlines India's procurement problem
New Delhi (AFP) Jan 08, 2014

India's decision to cancel a $740-million helicopter contract with Italian-owned AgustaWestland last week added to an already long list of failed defence deals which have left the military short of crucial equipment.

The deal to supply 12 transport helicopters, which were to ferry India's top-most leaders, was signed in February 2010, but was terminated last week after an investigation in Italy in 2013 brought to light alleged bribery.

Italian authorities arrested Giuseppe Orsi, the chairman of AgustaWestland's Italian parent company Finmeccanica, while India's ex-air force chief S.P. Tyagi is under investigation in New Delhi.

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Rahul Bedi, for Jane's Defence Weekly, blames "corruption, lack of decision making and excessive bureaucracy" as the three main problems that block India's military purchases.

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"The foremost problem is Indians creating a system where foreign vendors are forced to pay bribes," Verma said, adding that bureaucrats and politicians involved almost always go unpunished.

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"Someone who is heading the animal husbandry on one day is given charge of the defence (bureaucracy) on other. (Our) civilian bureaucracy doesn't have an expertise about the market and product which further complicates the situation," he added.

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