INS Vikramaditya started mooring trials

Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is retrofitted for Indian Navy started mooring trials on March 1. Sevmash shipyard's director general Nikolai Kalistratov signed an order to begin the trials. 

This is an essential milestone in the carrier's modernization particularly marked in the general schedule. Outfitting works have reached the final stage. The ship has been gradually filled with equipment, mechanisms, pipelines, cables; and now all those systems must be tested in different modes. 

The trials will be conducted in accordance with special programs and techniques. Tests of main propulsion plant are considered the most complicated and important. The second large-scale goal is testing of radioelectronics, including Indian-made systems, and air-technical facilities. The main purpose of mooring trials is preparation of shipborne systems for further important stage – shipyard's sea trials. The aircraft carrier is planned to take the sea late in 2011.

Underwater test launch of BrahMos missile to be carried out in 2011

Russian-Indian joint venture company BrahMos Aerospace has developed submarine-launched modification of BrahMos cruise missile; test launch is scheduled in the current year, said the company's executive director Sivathanu Pillai. 

The company has already developed the submarine-launched version, he said. It is planned to conduct the test launch from drowned platform placed on a special pontoon. The launch is supposed to be performed this year, added the executive director. 

As was previously reported, the Russian-Indian company had developed a modification of BrahMoss upersonic cruise missile designed for submarines. 

Russian-Indian joint venture company BrahMos Aerospace was established in India in 1998 for production of supersonic antiship missiles. The company was founded by NPO Mashinostroyenia (Russia) and Defense Research and Development Organisation (India).

Indian officer who had relations with Russian woman to be fired

Indian defense minister Arakkaparambil Kurian Antony promised to dismiss a naval officer who had adulterous relationship with a Russian woman in Severodvinsk, writes Hindu. 

"He'll be definitely fired. We won't serve any more", said the minister on Sunday answering the question about further career of the officer. 

Commodore Singkh had been heading the expert group observing refit of Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkovunder India's order in Severodvinsk. Early in 2010 Indian media sources published photos of the married commodore in bed with unknown Russian woman. 

Indian Navy set a special board to identify relationships of Mr. Singkh with "other Russian citizens" to determine whether those relations could have affected the cost of supplementary contract on the carrier's modernization. 

Retrofit contract of aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Gorshkov (later renamed into INS Vikramaditya) for Indian Navy was tied with Russia in 2004. It became the biggest-ever defense export contract between the two countries. Initially, the modernization was evaluated as $616 mln, and it was planned to deliver the ship in 2008. However, the delivery date was postponed to 2012 due to increase of scope of works; India was asked to make additional payment. New price (which has not been promulgated so far) was fixed in Dec 2009 after two years of negotiations. As for Indian media sources, the new contract cost $2.3 bln.