Latest news with #UnitedShipbuildingCorporation
Russia Today
15-07-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
India to invest over half a billion dollars to expand naval shipyard
India is planning to invest up to $588 million in its shipbuilding infrastructure in Mumbai, India Today reports, citing sources. Government-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) is looking to reclaim 10 acres of marine area near its existing Mumbai facility to create two new basins for the simultaneous construction and repair of large warships and submarines, according to the report. The expansion will help the dockyard meet the Indian Navy's increasing demand for advanced platforms, according to the report. It will also help double the current deadweight handling capacity from 40,000 tons to 80,000 tons. Deadweight handling capacity refers to the total weight a ship can carry, excluding the weight of the ship. MDL has also secured a 29-year lease for 15 acres of land, where shipbuilding activities have already begun. It currently has a capacity to build 11 submarines and 10 warships simultaneously, which is expected to increase as the shipyard works on two major submarine projects for the navy. The Mumbai expansion is also expected to play a crucial role in helping the Indian Navy achieve its ambitious goal of having a fleet of 175 ships and reaching 100% indigenization by 2047. Earlier this month, Andrey Puchkov, CEO of Russia's largest shipbuilding company, United Shipbuilding Corporation, said the company would like to take part in Indian defense indigenization efforts. India is building frigates which are part of the Triput class at the Goa shipyard, with transfer of technology and design assistance from Russia.
New York Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Russia could scrap smoke-belching, disaster-plagued aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov because Putin can't afford it anymore
The Russian military is eyeing plans to scrap its last remaining aircraft carrier, which has been plagued for years with disasters and costly repairs, according to state media. The Russian navy and the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) are in talks on whether it's worth restoring the damaged Admiral Kuznestov, a rusted Cold War-era hulk whose repairs would cost more than $250 million — a significant price tag for President Vladimir Putin to pay while still running his meatgrinder war in Ukraine. 'This is a very expensive and inefficient naval weapon,' Admiral Sergei Avakyants, ex-commander of the Pacific Fleet, told the state-owned Izvestia newspaper. 5 The troubled Admiral Kuznetsov serves as the Russian navy's sole aircraft carrier. AP 5 The ship has been plagued by disaster in recent years, including a 2019 fire that killed two people and left 14 others injured. AP 'If the Admiral Kuznetsov is decided not to continue repairs, it remains only to take it, cut it into scrap metal and dispose of it,' he added. The aircraft carrier first took to the seas in 1985 as a symbol of the Soviet Union's naval might, with the Kuznetsov set to be the first of a two-ship carrier fleet that never was. The USSR dissolved just six years later. The 1,000-foot-long ship can carry 26 fighter jets, the Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D, along with 24 helicopters. It has been deployed seven times around the eastern hemisphere to complete missions for the Kremlin. The ship has been out of service since 2017 after the Kuznetsov sustained damages when it lost two aircraft in a botched landing off Syria, where Russia had been backing now-ousted President Bashar al-Assad. 5 The Soviet-era ship can carry 26 of Moscow's jets, along with 24 helicopters. forsvaret/AFP via Getty Images The setback caused the ship to undergo repairs at a shipyard in the Murmansk region, where a crane collapsed onto the deck of the ship when a floating dock sank in October 2018. The following year, a major fire killed two people on board and injured more than a dozen others, according to Russian media. USC CEO Alexey Rakhmanov warned that it would take nearly $5 million to repair the ship after the blaze. By 2021, the general director of the shipyard overseeing the Kuznetsov was arrested and charged with embezzling more than half-a-million dollars allocated to the ship's repairs. 5 The ship has been deployed seven times, including a mission in the Mediterranean that hosted former Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades. EPA Moscow had originally hoped to return the Kuznetsov to service by 2022, but the date kept being pushed back further and further, with the budget to repair the ship ballooning to $257 million. The latest estimate claimed that the repairs would allow the ship to carry on for another 20 years, but many in Moscow believe that would be a waste of resources. 'Aircraft carriers are a relic of a bygone era,' Avakyants said. 'They're expensive and ineffective. The future lies in robotic systems and unmanned aviation. 5 The ship was stationed in the Murmansk region for repairs that have gone on for eight years. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Ilya Kramnik, of Moscow's IMEMO RAS Center for Strategic Planning Studies, echoed the calls to retire the Kuznetsov and have the Kremlin instead focus on building a new generation of aircraft carriers. 'Even if it (the Kuznetsov) lasts until 2040, it won't last long. Therefore, taking into account the experience gained during the operation of the Admiral Kuznetsov, it is necessary to build another ship.' Kramnik told the state outlet. Kramnik suggested that there would be no hope to save the Kuznetsov as a museum piece or a relic of the Soviet era, joining calls for the ship to be scrapped and to have its name stripped and transferred to a new ship.
Russia Today
15-07-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
India to invest over half a billion dollars to expand naval shipbuilding yard
India is planning to invest up to $588 million in its shipbuilding infrastructure in Mumbai, India Today reports, citing sources. Government-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) is looking to reclaim 10 acres of marine area near its existing Mumbai facility to create two new basins for the simultaneous construction and repair of large warships and submarines, according to the report. The expansion will help the dockyard meet the Indian Navy's increasing demand for advanced platforms, according to the report. It will also help double the current deadweight handling capacity from 40,000 tons to 80,000 tons. Deadweight handling capacity refers to the total weight a ship can carry, excluding the weight of the ship. MDL has also secured a 29-year lease for 15 acres of land, where shipbuilding activities have already begun. It currently has a capacity to build 11 submarines and 10 warships simultaneously, which is expected to increase as the shipyard works on two major submarine projects for the navy. The Mumbai expansion is also expected to play a crucial role in helping the Indian Navy achieve its ambitious goal of having a fleet of 175 ships and reaching 100% indigenization by 2047. Earlier this month, Andrey Puchkov, CEO of Russia's largest shipbuilding company, United Shipbuilding Corporation, said the company would like to take part in Indian defense indigenization efforts. India is building frigates which are part of the Triput class at the Goa shipyard, with transfer of technology and design assistance from Russia.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia May Finally Abandon Its Cursed Aircraft Carrier
A report in the pro-Kremlin media suggests that the troubled effort to return the Russian Navy's sole aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, to operational service will be terminated. Overhaul and modernization work on the Cold War-era flattop began almost eight years ago but has apparently been abandoned some time ago. As we have discussed in the past, the viability of putting the Kuznetsov back to sea has long been in doubt, and, with many competing priorities, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, the warship might now finally be destined for the scrapper's torch. According to the newspaper Izvestia, citing what it describes as 'informed sources,' the Russian Navy and the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) are poised to make a final decision on the fate of the Kuznetsov, with signs pointing to the likelihood that they will pull the plug on the modernization program. The plan to remove from service the country's only aircraft carrier is backed by senior Russian Navy figures. Adm. Sergei Avakyants, the former commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, told Izvestia that the Russian Navy 'does not need aircraft carriers in their classic form in the long term.' Describing aircraft carriers as 'a thing of the past,' Avakyants said that they 'can be destroyed in a few minutes by modern weapons.' 'It is a very expensive and ineffective naval weapon,' Avakyants continued. 'The future belongs to carriers of robotic systems and unmanned aircraft. And if a decision is made not to continue the repairs, the only thing left to do is to take the Admiral Kuznetsov, cut it up for scrap metal, and dispose of it.' The mention of drone-carrying warships is notable in that it reflects growing trends among a variety of navies in Europe and elsewhere, but, so far, at least, there has been no indication that Russia plans to start work on vessels of this kind. As for the Kuznetsov, the warship has been in a downward spiral since its overhaul and modernization began in 2017. Soon after it arrived at the shipyard, there were indications that the scope of the work was being dramatically reduced, throwing the fate of the warship into question. During the overhaul process, the carrier has suffered multiple fires and a drydock sinking. By early 2021, analysis of photos of the carrier suggested that work on the vessel had more or less stopped in the previous 12 months. In February 2023, the Kuznetsov finally departed its drydock at the Sevmorput Naval Shipyard in Russia's northwestern Murmansk region, but only two months later came reports that the carrier's crew had been disbanded, providing another hurdle to getting the ship into any meaningful kind of service. The Admiral Kuznetsov left its dock at the 35th SRZ. — Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 21, 2023 As we pointed out at the time, re-forming the carrier's crew would be a challenge at any time, but is now very much compounded by wider military personnel shortages ongoing in the context of the war in Ukraine. Amid all these problems, the previously indicated timeline for getting the carrier back into Russia's combat fleet has slipped. The ship was originally meant to have finished its overhaul in 2021. Even before the overhaul began, the Kuznetsov had its fair share of mishaps. Most notably, there was an onboard fire off Turkey in 2009, which led to the deaths of several crew members. In 2016, two of its fighters were lost only days apart while supporting Moscow's military campaign in Syria. Russian Su-33 fighter jet chilling in the waters of Mediterranean Sea back in Sukhoi Su-33 (NATO reporting name Flanker-D) crashed after trying to land on Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov operating off the coast of pilot was saved. — Clash Report (@clashreport) October 2, 2023 Meanwhile, as Kuznetsov gets older, the utility of continuing overhaul work becomes increasingly questionable. The overhaul — which was to include upgrades to its powerplant and electronics equipment — had been intended to keep the carrier in service for possibly another decade or more, but the longer the process takes, the less economic sense this makes. In the meantime, funds could be better invested in more practical and sustainable efforts, something TWZ has pointed out in the past. Despite increasing calls to abandon work on the Kuznetsov sooner rather than later, it's worth noting that there are also official plans that could interfere with this. As noted in the Izvestia article, the Fundamentals of State Policy in the Sphere of Naval Activity until 2030 document states that the Northern and Pacific Fleets should each have an aircraft carrier. Regardless of funding, such ambitions are totally unrealistic. After all, even if the Kuznetsov could be returned to operational status with the Northern Fleet, there is no meaningful plan to construct another aircraft carrier before 2030. Earlier plans to start work on a new nuclear-powered carrier design have long since been put on ice. On a planning level, there may still be aspirations among proponents of Russian carrier aviation to reintroduce flattops in some form or other. However, even their most loyal supporters realize that, as long as the war in Ukraine continues, there is very little chance of such programs getting funding. 'I think that in the ship construction program for the period up to 2050, which was recently reviewed by the Marine Collegium under the president, the issue of creating aircraft carriers is somehow present,' retired Rear Adm. Mikhail Chekmasov told Izvestia. 'The question is different — it's about funding, given that the Special Military Operation is currently underway.' For the time being, the only operational activity relating to Russian carrier aviation is the country's air wing, which is spearheaded by Su-33 and MiG-29KR fighters. These aircraft continue to be operated from land bases, but it's now been many years since aircrews actually got a chance to fly from the carrier. Having pilots re-qualify for carrier operations would be possible, but the Su-33s, in particular, are also showing their age, with no replacement in sight. F-35 from Evenes Airbase scrambled yesterday when 2 Bomber Aircraft TU-95 Bear H escorted by 2 Flanker-D jets flew close to #NATO Airspace in the High NorthRead more: — NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) February 5, 2025 In terms of warship construction, Russia is still working on the first of its Project 23900 big-deck amphibious assault ships, also known as the Ivan Rogov class, at a shipyard on the occupied Crimean Peninsula, as you can read about here. Should the Kuznetsov ultimately be scrapped, the addition of two new big-deck amphibious assault ships would give the Russian Navy an important capability boost, as TWZ has previously discussed: 'Ultimately, an amphibious assault ship is potentially much more flexible, even without conventional fixed-wing airpower. The Project 23900 is expected to be able to embark six landing craft to transport around 75 armored vehicles, 900 troops, and support equipment to a beachhead during an amphibious operation, but the vessels would also be suitable for floating hospitals or as flagships for littoral operations. With some modifications or with a tailored air group onboard, these warships could also take on anti-submarine or mine warfare roles. In addition, time and again, amphibious vessels of this kind have also shown their worth in non-combat scenarios, including disaster relief and humanitarian assistance missions.' The continued development of aircraft carriers in countries such as China and India underscores the fact that navies still see a place for flattops carrying conventional fixed-wing aircraft. These warships can still be arbiters of naval power in an operational context, as well as key points of national prestige. At this point, however, the future of Russia's sole aircraft carrier looks to be more uncertain than ever, with the arguments for continuing the effort to get it back into service becoming increasingly flimsy. Contact the author: thomas@
Reuters
04-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Russia's VTB to gain billions of roubles if interest rates come down, CFO says
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, July 4 (Reuters) - Every 1% cut in central bank interest rates gives Russia's VTB Bank an extra 20 billion roubles ($250 million) in net profit, CFO Dmitry Pyanov told Reuters, which benefits the government as the state-owned lender plans to distribute 50% of its profits via dividends - half of it to the state. Russia's benchmark interest rate remains extremely high at 20%, discouraging borrowers and hurting banks' loan books. While the central bank cut the rate last month from a more than 20-year-high of 21%, pressure is growing on it to bring rates down faster, with government officials and business leaders fretting over the risks of a recession. Among Russian banks VTB ( opens new tab has the highest proportion of loans on floating rates, so high official rates raise the risk it faces of more defaults or debt restructuring moves, which in turn can push up its capital requirements, while lower rates stand to benefit the bank's bottom line. "VTB Bank is a main beneficiary of the key rate cut," Pyanov told Reuters on Thursday at a financial forum in St Petersburg. "We suffer most of all during a period of its increase and will realise positive interest rate risk when the rate decreases." "A one percentage point rate cut gives us 20 billion roubles of net profit." President Vladimir Putin in June ordered that VTB's dividend payments be used to finance United Shipbuilding Corporation, which has been under VTB's management since 2023, and has state contracts in the defence sector. The state owns more than 60% of VTB. High interest rates have indeed stalled investment and encouraged companies and consumers to hold money on deposit. Corporate and consumer lending is slowing and the central bank has noted a deterioration in credit quality, although it says the situation is not yet critical. A survey of participants at a financial congress in St Petersburg this week pinpointed the key risk factors as corporate credit concerns and interest rate risks for banks. Pyanov said he did not expect a banking crisis and saw no banks in need of a bailout. Dividends from state companies are a major source of revenues for Russia's budget, which is operating at a deficit of 1.5% of GDP as Moscow diverts vast sums to the defence sector for its conflict in Ukraine and grapples with reduced energy revenues from lower oil prices this year and a strong rouble. Shareholders of top lender Sberbank ( opens new tab approved a $10 billion dividend payout this week. VTB surprised the market in April by announcing its first dividend since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, having slumped to a $7.7 billion sanctions-induced loss in 2022. The total payout of 275.75 billion roubles comes on the back of record profits in 2024 and though a decline is expected this year, profits could once again surpass 500 billion roubles, Pyanov said. Depending on capital adequacy rules that the central bank may adjust, Pyanov said VTB would work hard to keep dividend payments at 50% of net profit for the years to come. Pyanov also noted how the departure of Western capital and the emergence of retail investors as a dominant force in the Russian stock market since the start of the conflict in Ukraine had influenced VTB. Dividends are now key to maintaining shareholder value in Russia, he said. "With such a dominant retail investor, everyone wants dividends," Pyanov said. ($1 = 79.0000 roubles)
