PANAJI: India has completed the price negotiations for the purchase of four advanced Talwar-class stealth frigates from Russia, two of which will be built at Goa Shipyard Limited, with the deal pegged at close to $2 billion, a source close to the developments said.

Defence ministry officials told TOI they expect the two countries to ink the agreement during the 19th Indo-Russian summit between Russian President Vladamir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 5.

"The price negotiations for Project 1135.6 are complete and broadly the price is around $1.75 billion, which includes the technology transfer to Goa Shipyard," a senior level official said.

Warships To Have BrahMos Missile System

While two stealth frigates will be bought directly from Russia's Yantar Shipyard, United Shipbuilding Corporation, which owns the Kaliningrad-based shipyard, has agreed to transfer the technology for the frigates to Goa Shipyard for an undisclosed price.

1"The plan is to develop a strategic capability at Goa Shipyard so that another line is opened up in the country to indigenously build such warships. Almost 50% of the equipment will be indigenised. The BrahMos missile system will be integrated on the warship. The aim is to indigenously integrate the combat management system (CMS) which will be a challenge," the source said.
India inked an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with Russia for the four frigates during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 2016 BRICS Summit in Goa.

Government official say that if the two nations finalise the deal this October, then construction of the two frigates can commence by 2020 and the first guided missile frigate can be delivered by GSL in 2025.

The curbs imposed by US through the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) remains a wrinkle for the deal and India and Russia are still trying to hammer out a solution to bypass the US sanctions. "The payment method has not been finalised and the government at various levels is engaging in discussions," sources said.