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In yet another sign that Russia’s ambitious naval rearmament program is facing difficulties, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, Alexei Rakhmanov, announced that the delivery of the second Admiral Gorshkov-class (Project 22350) guided missile frigate, Admiral Kasatonov, will be delayed by around eight months. “The second warship of this series, the Admiral Kasatonov, was due to have been delivered this year but considering that the ceremony of hoisting the flag aboard the [Admiral] Gorshkov has been postponed, we simply won’t be physically able to prepare the next ship,” Rakhmanov told TASS news agency last week. “The delay with the...

A major military defeat can unexpectedly turn into a victory. Indeed, the actions of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov operating off the Syrian coast could easily be qualified as a failure (see EDM, October 27, 2016; November 15, 2016). The ship inched around the coast of Europe on its way to Syria, desperately puffing thick, black smoke due to a problem with its power plant. Then, during training operations in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Kuznetsov lost two warplanes, which fell into the sea due to technical faults, without any opposition from the enemy. However, the Navy won a decisive...

There have long been reports that the ongoing delays with the commissioning of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate have to do with defects in its air defense systems. These were thought to be primarily related to problems with integration of the Poliment Redut air defense missile system. The Poliment system was designed to be Russia’s answer to AEGIS, with four phased array antennas that are able to track 16 targets at the same time. The Redut system consists of four or eight vertical launch systems that launch three types of missiles. The 9M100 is the short-range missile, with a range of...

The latest Russian Navy frigate, the Admiral Gorshkov (lead ship of Project 22350), has practiced launching cruise missiles against coastal and sea targets as part of its trials, Northern Fleet spokesman Captain 1st Rank Vadim Serga said on Thursday. The first ship of the new Russian Navy frigate project 22350 class "Admiral Gorshkov" sailing out for its first sea trials in November 2014. "The launches of various cruise missiles were conducted as part of the final stages of the ship’s armament and equipment state trials," the spokesman said. According to Serga, the ship’s crew has already tested the cold start...

MOSCOW --- The Project 22350 lead frigate Admiral Gorshkov has gone to the White Sea to complete state trials of its weapons and equipment, Northern Fleet spokesman Captain 1st Rank Vadim Serga said late on Monday. "Apart from the ship’s crew, representatives of industrial enterprises are also on board the frigate to observe the trials. The ship completed its passage from Baltiysk to Severodvinsk on September 30 and temporarily joined the Northern Fleet’s Belomorsk naval base forces. During its passage, the frigate’s navigation systems, communications equipment and radars were checked," Serga said. The final stages of the state trials will...

The Indian Navy, clearly, has an appetite for punishment. One might imagine that the nightmarish experience of refurbishing the Gorshkov - now the aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya - in a Russian shipyard would be enough to forestall any more such warship building projects. But no! Although the Gorshkov took more than twice the contracted time (118 months instead of 52 months) and almost thrice the contracted cost ($2.3 billion instead of $947 million), the navy now wants to involve itself in building three Russian Talwar-class frigates. Frigates are versatile, multi-role warships of 4,000-6,000 tonnes that can deal with threats from...

This article is part of CIMSEC’s “Forgotten Naval Strategists Week.” It’s time to discuss the Soviet Navy, so dust off your Norman Polmar guides and your early Tom Clancy novels. Or just ask an old salt and Cold War vet if the Red Fleet used to be a big deal. You might even check with Vladimir Putin, who is well aware of this recent yet quickly forgotten chapter in Russian history. Putin would no doubt fondly recall the man responsible for the rise of the Soviet Navy and for its operational and intellectual direction in its heyday: Admiral Sergei Gorshkov....

INS Vikramaditya all set for crucial, pre-induction trials Aircraft carrier will be delivered to India on Navy Day, December 4 INS Vikramaditya will take to the sea for crucial pre-induction trials on June 8, Russian shipbuilding sources said. Last month, the trials were put off by two weeks due to bad weather alerts. However, the delay will not affect the scheduled delivery of the aircraft carrier to the Indian Navy in December, according to the Sevmash shipyard, where the Soviet-era Admiral Gorshkov carrier has undergone modernisation and repairs. “We are confident that we will hand over the vessel to India...

DEFENCE INS Vikramaditya may not arrive even in 2012 By Syed Nazakat Ahead of his last visit to India, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev got angry with the Sevmash Shipyard. He publicly scolded the Russian shipbuilder for delays in delivering the INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorshkov. Medvedev knew that India was tired of waiting for the 45,000-tonne aircraft-carrier. While his two-day visit to Delhi ?this December was to better the bilateral relations, Moscow is aware that further delays in the INS Vikramaditya deal could be a setback to Russia-India defence ties and could sour future defence deals. The original delivery...

From the Admiral Gorshkov to the T-50: on the new renaissance in military-technical cooperation between Russia and India Admiral Gorshkov © RIA Novosti. Sergey Safronov RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik Russia and India have now signed an agreement on the preliminary design of the fifth-generation FGFA fighter for the Indian Air Force. The fighter will be based on the Russian T-50, which is currently undergoing flight tests. The history of the FGFA spans more than a year - the preliminary agreement on its design was signed in 2008, when the Future Airborne Complex - Frontline Aviation (PAK-FA) program entered...

A non-flying MiG-29K naval strike fighter prototype is being used to test aircraft handling systems in the former Soviet aircraft carrier being refitted for the Indian Navy at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, northern Russia. Sevmash announced on 9 June that the MiG-29K was brought on board Vikramaditya (ex-Admiral Gorshkov ) to trial flight-deck hardware, in particular the restraints that are designed to hold an aircraft in place until its engines generate sufficient thrust for take-off. The yard's head of production for military-technical co-operation, Sergey Novoselov, said that successful testing of the restraints was a condition for the next contractual...

Russia has said it will stick to the 2012 deadline of delivering modernised Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to India. “We are catching up with the retrofit of the Admiral Gorshkov. “We will fulfill the obligations Russia has undertaken,” Roman Trotsenko, head of Russia's united shipbuilding corporation, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. India recently agreed to pay an additional US$ 2.33 billion to Russia for Admiral Gorshkov. As per the original contract signed between the two countries in 2004, Indian Navy was to get the carrier in 2008. However, the two countries were negotiating for the last one year...

Government said the USD 1,783 million to be spent for refurbishing and repairing the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier "compares well" with the price of similar warships built in other countries. "The repair and refurbishing cost of about USD 1,783 million (USD 1.78 billion) of the ship compares well with the cost of other aircraft carriers of similar capabilities being built elsewhere in the world," Defence Minister A K Antony said in written reply to a Rajya Sabha query Friday. India and Russia recently signed a fresh deal worth USD 2.33 billion dollars for the Gorshkov, which was originally to be...

A senior navy officer, who played a crucial role in the acquisition of Admiral Gorshkov, the Russian aircraft carrier, has been placed under the scanner. Investigators are looking into whether commodore Sukhjinder Singh’s proximity to some Russians was in any way linked to problems associated with the Gorshkov project, including the escalation in cost as well as delays. Singh was in charge of the aircraft carrier project in Russia, and had been stationed there for many years. The commodore was deputed there to supervise the re-fitting and technical requirements. The probe also focuses on his improper personal conduct. The carrier...

After a three-year long renegotiation, the fresh price of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier was finalised at USD 2.35 billion by the government, a day ahead of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India. "The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which met here on Wednesday, has given its approval to the fresh price for Gorshkov," a Defence Ministry official said here. India and Russia are likely to conclude the fresh contract for the aircraft carrier, bought by the Navy in 2004 and rechristened INS Vikramaditya, during Putin's stay in the capital. The warship, purchased originally at a price of...

Russia and India are expected to sign three contracts in military technical cooperation totaling $4 billion, including retrofitting the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to India, Vedomosti Russian daily reported. A $2.35-billion contract between Russia's state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Defense Ministry on refitting the INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) and the $1.2-billion contract on delivery of MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based fighters will be signed during Putin's visit to India on March 11-12. The Vikramaditya is currently undergoing repairs and refit at the Sevmash shipyard in Russia. The initial refit agreement of $970 million went...

In a strange twist of fate, a former province of the then USSR — Ukraine — is emerging as the likely meeting point for naval aviators from India and China as the two countries try to rapidly acquire the capabilities to build and operate aircraft carriers of the future. A small aircraft carrier training base on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine is the most sought after training facility for both countries that are planning to induct modern aircraft carriers in the next five years. While India, which has been operating aircraft carriers for the past 50 years, wants to use...

Admitting "setbacks" in its relations with Russia over delays in defence supplies, India said the two sides have signed an agreement which will help in improving the product support from that country. "There may be delays and setbacks sometimes but we have a long relationship with Russia... There have been delays in delivery and product support in the past. But after the signing of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with Russia, issues have been sorted out, things are moving faster now," Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters after the induction of Russian-made MiG-29K maritime fighters into the Navy at a...

The sophisticated Russian-made MiG-29K maritime fighter aircraft, which will be based on under-construction aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, were formally inducted into the Navy by Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday.Four MiG 29Ks of the 'Black Panthers' squadron were inducted at a ceremony that was also attended by Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma. India had placed orders for 16 MiG-29K in 2004 along with Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier from Russia , four of which landed in India on December 4,2009. "After induction, the fighter jets would be operated for around two years from the under-development shore-based testing facility (SBTF) at...

Russia and India are to sign an additional agreement on a contract to upgrade the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrying cruiser, a Russian military cooperation service top official said Monday. "The document will be signed in February-March this year," deputy service director Alexander Fomin said. Moscow and New Delhi had been wrangling over the final cost of the project to upgrade the aircraft carrier since Russia said it had underestimated the cost of modernization, and asked for an additional $1.2 billion, an amount India called "exorbitant." Under the original $1.5-billion 2004 contract between Russia's state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian...