Russian Papers Respond to Kitty Hawk

You really should read the original Russian, but if you can't, there are English versions of the story out there. This article pretty much makes it clear, if India goes with the Kitty Hawk instead of the Gorshkov, Russia will bury the Mig-29 contract, but not stop there. Basically Russia is playing hardball. This probably isn't the most politically correctl reactions, but it is certainly very Russian.

Within the framework of bilateral cooperation, a few large contracts are presently being implemented, including licensed production of Su-30MKI fighters, T-90S tanks in India and delivery of Smerch multiple launch rocket systems.

"If the initiative of President George Bush ruins these plans, the military and technical cooperation Between Moscow and Delhi will drop to the level of mere after-sales follow-up of the hardware delivered to India before," the paper said.

That is not a small thing. India has a lot of money invested in its military ties with Russia, and Russia appears ready to play hardball. The article basically reports on the Weekly Standard article we discussed last week, then tosses around the threats.

This might be more bluster than substance, India has a tremendous amount of money lined up for military purchases over the next few years, it is hard to believe that Russia would sacrifice up to $10 billion in sales on the fighter purchase alone over what amounts to about $600 million on the aircraft carrier.

As the AP is reporting, Gates is in India, and he is basically playing the role of ambassador. The AP article notes it is unlikely the winner of the $10 billion fighter purchase will be announced anytime soon, and cited next years election in India as a reason. The topic of the Kitty Hawk remains out of the public discussion among government officials in both the US and India. From our perspective, the lack of any denial is a sign that the US is ready to allow negotiations between India and Russia to play out while the Kitty Hawk is still commissioned. This approach makes sense to us, time is on the side of the US in this deal, not Russia, and the time frame is defined by India, not the US or Russia.