MOSCOW. Jan 19 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia is ready to sign the contract on the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier with India during the visit Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov is going to pay to India on Monday till Wednesday, the press release posted on the Defense Ministry's official website reads.
According to the press release, "the great part of contract work on this project has been done, and there are no principal differences with India. Currently draft contract documents on the Admiral Gorshkov heavy aircraft carrying cruiser are practically adjusted, and the signing time depends on the timing of technical issues. During the visit of Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov to India Russia is ready to sign the appropriate documents."
According to the Defense Ministry, the contract on the aircraft carrier has recently been the main issue of the military- technical cooperation between the two countries.
The Admiral Gorshkov of Project 1143.4 was laid down at the Ukrainian Mykolayiv shipyard on December 26, 1978 and was commissioned to the Soviet Navy in December 1987 under the name of Baku. Its displacement is 44,570t, length 273m, width 49m, drought 10.2m, speed 30.7 knots and endurance 30 days. The crew, including deck fighter pilots, amounted to 1,950 people. The carrier is armed with four torpedo tubes, Bazalt and Kinzhal rocket systems, and two air defense systems.
The Defense Ministry said that India had decided to have the Admiral Gorshkov to carry MIG-29K Fulcrum deck-based derivatives having a wing span of 12m (folded 7.8m), a length of 17.27m, and a height of 4.73m. Its maximal takeoff weight is 17,700kg, the maximal payload is 4,500kg, the afterburner-supported run requirement is 260m. The maximal speed of the aircraft is 2,300kmph. The MIG-29K is armed with a 30-mm built-in cannon, AA and AS missiles, and various aerial bombs.