By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
NEW DELHI — After a five-year delay in acquiring a Russian aircraft carrier, the Indian Navy will have to wait further before the vessel is equipped with its proposed air defense system.
The Indo-Israeli joint project for the Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) system for the carrier has been hit by technical snags, meaning the Admiral Gorshkov, now renamed Vikramaditya, which was formally received by Defence Minister A.K. Antony Nov. 15, will arrive in India without an air defense system. The system is based on the Israeli Barak missile.
An Indian Navy official admitted the carrier initially will have no air defense system. The carrier, however, will have an advanced electronic warfare jamming system and will be protected as part of a carrier group, the official added. It also will be equipped with an AK-630 rapid-fire gun system to destroy incoming missiles and aircraft.
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