Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) Alexey Rakhmanov on Monday said the first of two Krivak class stealth frigates built by Russia is expected to be delivered by the middle of 2023 to India.
"Due to Coronavirus crisis, we had delays in execution of some of the stages of construction. Currently, the delay in construction and delay in execution is probably 8 months. The first ship should be delivered in the middle of 2023," Rakhmanov said while addressing a press conference in "ARMY-2021" in Moscow.
He also stated that Indian technicians would be invited for the ongoing construction of two frigates at the Yantar shipyard.
"We are inviting Indian specialists so that they can participate in the completion of construction and familiarise with the equipment. The second stage will be much more substantial when we start production at Goa Shipyard which will not only be equipment specific but also technology-driven," Rakhmanov added.
In October 2016, India and Russia signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for four Krivak or Talwar stealth frigates where two are to be procured directly from Russia and two more to be built by the Goa Shipyard Limited.
The keel for the first of the two frigates was laid at the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in January this year and the second in June. The two ships are to be delivered by GSL by 2026.
The Indian Navy currently operates six Talwar class frigates and they are the most numerous foreign-built surface ships in its fleet.
( With inputs from ANI )
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