New Delhi: The Mumbai terror attacks, rise of China, and increase of piracy in the region, requires India to have Navy capable of projecting India's military power far away from the Indian shores.
An aircraft carrier is central to this, but India's efforts to get replacement for its ageing aircraft carrier seem to have run into choppy waters.
The Russians are coming and it isn't good news for the Indian military, which desperately wants the Gorshkov aircraft carrier.
A team is arriving on this for the final round of negotiations. Russia wants about $2.9 billion for delivery in 2012.
The original deal was about 974 million dollars for delivery last year. But that's not it.
The worry is Moscow could exploit India's desperation - one is to replace India's ageing carrier Virat.
The other is to get a Russian nuclear powered submarine to train the Indian Navy. No other country except Russia will lease one.
Moscow also wants India to buy 19 additional MIG 29s at a cost of another $1.9 billion, but which will only be delivered in 2014.
Realistically speaking, India has no option but to get the Gorshkov and Nerpa nuclear submarine at whatever price. But given the financial crises, Russia's military firms are in, Delhi's oldest ally, Moscow, is sure to extract a high price.