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Russia to deliver 7 fighters MiG-29K to India in 2013

The first fighters were supplied to the Indian Navy in 2009
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

BANGALORE, February 5 (Itar-Tass) – Russia has handed over four fighters MiG-29K for India under the second contract for the delivery of the deck fighters for the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (the former Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Gorshkov), Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Alexander Fomin told reporters on Tuesday.  

“We have finalized successfully the first contract, under which all 16 fighters were delivered. On the second contract first four fighters from 29 fighters were already supplied. These fighters were supplied in the previous year. We are planning to deliver another seven fighters MiG-29K this year,” Fomin said.

He did not note when Russia is planning to finalize the second contract, but recalled about the problems over the transfer of the aircraft carrier to the contractor and noted that sometimes the supplies of weapons should be harmonized with the supplies of the platform. “Each type of military hardware has its term of warranty services, service life, which take effect from the moment of its delivery to the customer. When some disagreements arise, then the problems arose over the terms of post-sale maintenance and other technical details that should be taken into account in our work. Therefore, the subcontractors are seeking to synchronize the deliveries of the platform with the main type of weapons. This is important things,” Fomin remarked.

The contract for the delivery of 16 fighters of a one-seat deck model and a two-seat deck, combat training model was signed by Russia and India in 2004 within the package Russian-Indian intergovernmental agreement for the modernization of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya. The additional contract for the next batch of 29 fighters was concluded in March 2010. The first fighters were supplied to the Indian Navy in 2009.

The corporation fulfilled all the stages of the trials of the deck fighters onboard the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya and the state contractor signed the protocol that this work was done, Director General of the Russian aircraft-building corporation MiG Sergei Korotkov told ARMS-TASS before.