The Hindu : Sale of Russian nuclear platforms linked to Gorshkov deal?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003

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Sale of Russian nuclear platforms linked to Gorshkov deal?

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI JAN. 7. With the nuclear command authority having been made public, the Government is banking on its old ally, Russia, to fill its cupboard.

The Defence Minister, George Fernandes, is expected to hold talks on purchasing and leasing delivery platforms for nuclear weapons, particularly for the air and sea legs of the triad, during his visit to Moscow later this month to attend the meeting of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission for Military Technical Cooperation.

New Delhi and Moscow have been locked in negotiations for the berthed aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, but the actual systems India is eyeing are submarines and aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Technically, India has indigenous answers to both but they are years away from materialising.

The indigenous submarine, advanced technology vessel (ATV), may be available by 2010 at the earliest. Sources maintain that only the hull and the 190 mw nuclear reactor of the ATV are ready. Major work on the tightly-guarded project is pending and its status has caused major differences in the naval establishment in the past.

For the air leg, India can configure its existing aircraft fleet to deliver nuclear weapons. But developing credible and super-efficient delivery systems from the air would take time and considerable effort. India does not need assistance for land-based missiles, the third leg of the triad. The Indian Army possesses specially-designed railway wagons which can double up as vehicles for launching the Agni, which was originally planned with a nuclear warhead in mind.On the other hand, the Russian alternatives are available off-the-shelf. The Amur class submarine could arrive within two years after being refitted to adhere to the missile technology control regime. India is also interested in buying backfire bombers, besides long-range reconnaissance aircraft, which Russia will be able to deliver almost immediately.

However, sources say that talks on Admiral Gorshkov are stuck. Five technical visits later, India is clear that this aircraft carrier will meet its security needs in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea for the next two decades. Russia too has no use for the carrier.

Under an agreement signed in 2000, it has given it to India free. But both sides are locked on the cost of refurbishing the partially gutted carrier. The difference between the prices quoted by New Delhi and Moscow is said to be over Rs. 1,000 crores.But talks are not deadlocked over the price alone. There is also the mutual distrust that has to be bridged by both sides. Highly-placed sources say that India feels it is unlikely to get the nuclear weapons delivery platforms without reaching an agreement on Gorshkov.

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