The Hindu Business Line : Will Gorshkov propel India into a `blue water navy'?

IT is a free gift that would cost upwards of $1.6 billion. Worse, it will take another four years to be delivered. The mighty Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, will arrive on Indian shores by 2008, by when the country's only aircraft carrier, INS Viraat, would have passed into history.

The decision to purchase the decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier has raised several questions about the country's defence planning.

While few defence experts question the need for an aircraft carrier for the country's defence, the fact remains that in the Gorshkov, the country will only get a costly stopgap arrangement, and that too after inordinate delays.

The plans for the indigenous Air Defence Ship (ADS) made to order for the Indian Navy have been hanging fire for several years and the carrier is yet to get off the drawing board. The Government says that the ship will be ready by 2010, but no one seriously believes that it will join the Navy before 2015, and that is a long way off.

Coming back to the Gorshkov, the 44,000-tonne vessel has seen some very bad days. An explosion tore through the engine room of the carrier in 1994 and there was a major fire incident on the ship in the previous year. In fact, the Gorshkov was in service with the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy for just five years before being decommissioned in the post-Soviet era.

So what the Indian Navy is set to get is a ship that has been virtually rusting for a decade. Needless to say, the Russians would not have invested very heavily in its upkeep ahead of its subsequent sale to India.

The story on how the deal was struck is even more interesting. The Russians trapped the Indians by offering the carrier "free of cost". Of course, India would have to pay for refurbishment and for whatever equipment that goes with the ship.

The quoted price for the refurbishment and the two squadrons of Mig-29K aircraft apart from Kamov choppers, according to some experts, was too high. In fact, part of the delay in finalising the contract was due to the haggling the project went through at the price negotiation committee stage.

According to Indian Navy sources, the cost of refurbishment of the Kiev class carrier has been agreed at $675 million. The Russians had initially demanded $800 million.

Even the cost of the two squadrons or 28 Mig-29K aircraft was a major sticking point and India even threatened to get the naval fighters from a third country.

What was more, the Russians refused to negotiate any other defence deals till Gorshkov was cleared. India was looking for long range Tupolev TU-22 bomber and reconnaissance aircraft and leasing two nuclear submarines. During the signing ceremony on Tuesday, the two Governments, however, denied that other defence deals had been stuck due to Gorshkov.

Another school of thought, especially Indian Air Force, says that the country should not have invested so heavily in acquiring an aircraft carrier at a time when there were other pressing needs. The Air Force has been pressing for replacement of the ageing fleet of Mig-21 fighter aircraft, which currently make up nearly half of the inventory of fighters in the country.

The Indian Air Force lobbied hard against the Gorshkov saying that it was capable of tackling the only identified threat to the country's defences - Pakistan. The neighbouring country does not have a carrier and with the induction of the Sukhoi Su30 fighter aircraft with a range of 2,000 km with airborne refuelling, the Air Force is capable of responding to any threat to the country. But after the signing of the agreement for Gorshkov, that argument serves no purpose.

Ideally, the country needs three carriers in order to realise its ambitions of being a "blue water naval power". After INS Vikrant was decommissioned five years ago, the Indian Navy was left with just the Hermes class INS Viraat procured from Britain. Although INS Viraat is due to be decommissioned next year, the Navy hopes to extend its life by another five years.

Naval experts say that in the wake of 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, the Indian Ocean has become a strategically important zone. Being a single aircraft carrier Navy, India will not be able to wield sufficient clout in the area, especially when the ship goes to the dry docks for maintenance.

So while the Indian Navy, with help from the Indian Air Force, can tackle any threat from Pakistan even without a carrier, India's dream of becoming a blue water navy will remain only half fulfilled.