Russia will supply three Admiral Grigorovich-class (Project 11356M) frigates to India that were originally intended for the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet, according to a source in the Russian defence industry.
“The relevant concealed agreement has been achieved, and India will receive the second three of Project 11356 frigates being built for the Russian Navy. The Indian side has obtained 12 spare tool and accessory kits for the ships,” the source said.
The only issue at the moment is that the vessels, which are being constructed at the Kaliningrad-based Yantar Shipyard, use a Ukrainian Zorya-Mashproyekt gas-turbine propulsion plant. The 2014 Ukraine conflict slammed the door on co-operation between Moscow and Kiev over critical propulsion system components, especially marine gas turbine engines.
While Russia has already received the propulsion systems for the first three frigates, Ukraine’s termination of defence exports to Russia has left the final three without their turbines, with indigenous replacements possibly not be available before 2019.
While Ukraine says it will not supply the engines to Russia, the source told IHS Jane’s that India could use previously acquired Ukrainian engines. Alternatively India could acquire new engines directly from Kiev.
Meanwhile Moscow and New Delhi are considering transporting the frigates’ hulls from the Yantar Baltic Shipyard to India to enable the further construction of the ships and the installation of the engines in the country.
The additional three Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy – No. 360 Admiral Butakov , No. 361 Admiral Istomin , and No. 362 Admiral Kornilov – will reportedly be equipped with the BrahMos cruise missile system.
Admiral Grigorovich-class vessels are variants of the Talwar (Krivak III)-class frigates, of which six were built for the Indian Navy at the Yantar Baltic Shipyard between 2003 and 2013.
Want to read more? For analysis on this article and access to all our insight content, please enquire about our subscription options ihs.com/contact
IHS Jane’s 360: IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly – Digital, Online and Print Magazine
from DefenseNewz.com http://ift.tt/2b7Cf4c
via Defense News
No comments: