NEW DELHI, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Indian and Russian defense ministers met in New Delhi this week with disputes about the former Russian aircraft carrier, which is to become part of the Indiana navy, expected to be high on the agenda.
Analysts say prolonged delays in Russia's refit and delivery of the former Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, now renamed INS Vikramaditya, are likely to draw much attention.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation has become India's leading arms supplier. For 2012, a news release from the Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade stated, Russia "will supply arms and military equipment worth $7.7 billion to India, about 60 percent of Russia's total arms exports and 80 percent of India's arms imports."
The 44,000-ton INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier's transfer to the Indian navy, scheduled for October 2013 after sea trials detected problems in the ship's propulsion system, is the largest element in the bilateral Russo-Indian arms trade.
The refit of the aircraft carrier is estimated to be the largest item in India's defense budget of Russian arms purchases.
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