India to build own aircraft carrier, still needs Russian ship: Navy chief

India to build own aircraft carrier, still needs Russian ship: Navy chief Agence France-Presse
New Delhi, December 2

India's naval chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh said on Monday the Government had given the go-ahead for the building of an indigenous aircraft carrier but stressed the need for the urgent purchase of a Russian vessel which is currently up for sale.

"I am happy to inform you that the Government has recently approved the construction of an indigenous aircraft carrier," Singh told a news conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, on the eve of India's naval day celebrations.

"The construction of the carrier will begin in 2003 ... and will take at least eight to 10 years to build," he said adding that the design for the 37,000 tonne ship had been approved.

Asked if India was still in the market for refurbished Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov -- decommissioned by the Soviet navy in the 1980s -- Singh replied with a categorical, "Yes - absolutely ... there is absolutely no doubt (about that) in the minds of the naval staff."

Singh's comments come a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a three-day state visit to India.

New Delhi has been looking for an aircraft carrier since the beginning of the last decade and has been in negotiations for years with Moscow for the Gorshkov.

The Indian navy decommissioned one of its two aircraft carriers, the INS Vikrant, in January 1997, while the second, the INS Viraat, will be out of operation in another couple of years, naval sources said.

"Ideally, any blue water navy should have at least three carriers, where at least two are operational when the third goes for a refit," the source said.

"In our case, we need to come a conclusion about the Gorshkov soon or we will be without an aircraft carrier," he said.

Three years ago, Russia had offered the ageing aircraft carrier free of charge, with the string that India coughs up millions of dollars for its refit.

According to a senior naval official, India had sent three teams to Russia to evaluate Gorshkov in the past few years, but "serious negotiations on its price began only this year in March.

"So it is not quite correct to say price negotiations have been taking time," he said.