Not Reliant On Ukraine For Engines And Eager To Support Make In India, Claims Russia

The chairman of the Russian United ShipBuilding Corporation (USC) claimed on Monday that Russia is no longer reliant on Ukrainian engines to power its frigates and that they are eager to invest in India as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme.

“I don’t understand why India chose a Ukrainian engine given that we have now developed our own capability and capacity. According to USC President Alexei Rakhmanov, we are no longer reliant on the Ukraine for engines. He made this statement while attending the Army 2022 defence expo in Moscow.

The top Russian official, who oversees the nation’s shipbuilding industry, was referring to the Ukrainian gas turbine engines that India purchased to power the four stealth frigates that India is constructing with Russian assistance.

According to earlier ThePrint reporting, India purchased gas turbine engines from Ukraine and delivered them to Russia for installation aboard the Admiral Grigorovich-class guided-missile stealth frigates that are being built by a Russian shipyard for the Indian Navy as part of a $2.5 billion agreement.

While two ships are being built in Russia, two more will be constructed in Goa with Russian assistance.

For the ones being built in Goa, India had bought Ukrainian engines, but it is understood that the delivery had not yet occurred. The factory that makes these gas turbine engines was one of the places that Russian missiles attacked in Ukraine.

Due to the delayed delivery of the engines and the factory attack, it is now unknown what will happen to the two frigates that are scheduled to be built in Goa.

‘Trying to fast-track delivery of frigates’

Rakhmanov stated that the first of the two frigates would be delivered by November 2023, followed by the second six months later.

He claimed that the Covid epidemic and the ongoing conflict with Ukraine both delayed the delivery schedule from its initial projection.

Rakhmanov stated, “We are attempting to expedite the delivery and close the gap.

The first ship was supposed to be delivered in accordance with the original delivery timetable by the end of this year.

The top Russian defence official stated that the USC is interested in investing in India and is considering suitable shipyards for the same when speaking about future plans. Additionally, he stated that although the Pipavav shipyard has entered an insolvency procedure, Russia wanted to invest there.

He stated, “We want to participate in the Make in India initiative.