Russia Delivers Four MiG-29K Fighters to India in Dec.
Russian aircraft maker MiG delivered in December a batch of four MiG-29K/KUB shipborne fighters to the Indian Navy under a contract concluded in 2010, the company said.
With the delivery, MiG “has fulfilled all its obligations for 2012 stipulated in the 2010 contract with the Indian Defense Ministry,” the company said in a statement.
In March 2010, Russia and India signed a $1.5-billion contract on the supply of 29 additional MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier-based fighter jets to New Delhi.
Last year Russia fulfilled its 2004 contract with the Indian Defense Ministry, supplying the country with 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four two-seat MiG-29KUBs.
The contracts for the jets also stipulate pilot training and aircraft maintenance, including the delivery of flight simulators and interactive ground and sea-based training systems.
The Indian Navy will base the MiG-29K squadron, dubbed the “Black Panthers” at an airfield in the state of Goa on India’s west coast until INS Vikramaditya, the Soviet-built carrier originally named the Admiral Gorshkov, joins the Navy in the fall of 2013.
The MiG-29K is a navalized variant of the MiG-29 land-based fighter, and has folding wings, an arrester tail-hook, strengthened airframe and multirole capability. It can be armed with a wide variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry.
Russia Delivers Four MiG-29K Fighters to India in Dec. | idrw.org
Indian Navy gets firepower in its armoury
The Indian Navy (IN) have got a major fillip to its firepower with the arrival of its newest acquisition INS Tarkash, at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on December 26. Built by the Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia INS Tarkash was commissioned on November 9 byVice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.
Defence official said that INS Tarkash is the second of three project 1135.6 follow-on ships ordered by Indian Navy, the first being INS Teg, which joined the fleet in June this year. Chief PRO (Defence) N Vispute said that commanded by Captain Antony George, an Anti-submarine Warfare Specialist, and manned by a crew of 23 officers and 228 sailors, INS Tarkash is armed with an advanced combat suite, comprising an optimal blend of Russian and Indian cutting edge technologies. Tarkash’s Arsenal includes the ‘Brahmos’ Supersonic Cruise Missiles, Surface-to-air Missile System, Medium Range Gun, Close-in Weapon System, Torpedoes and Anti-submarine Rockets.
On arrival at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, the ship and her crew were accorded a warm reception. The welcome ceremony was presided over by Rear Admiral AR Karve, the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, and witnessed by senior officers of the Western Naval Command, together with the family members of the ship’s crew who turned out in large numbers. Vispute said that during her maiden return passage, as part of the Navy’s Maritime Diplomatic Initiative, the ship made port calls at several ports to strengthen bridges of friendship and international co-operation with the host countries.
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