Indian defence saw many new things in 2011: the debut test of the 3,500 km range strategic Agni-IV missile, induction of new naval ships like INS Satpura and Deepak, initial operational clearance for the indigenous fighter Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, and clearance for the setting up of an Officers Training Academy (OTA) at Gaya in Bihar. The Sunday Guardian examines some of the new milestones that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) hopes to achieve in 2012.

MMRCA

Medium multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF)
The deal for 126 fighters was shortlisted in April 2011, with just two contenders left out of six —French Rafale and European EADS' Eurofighter Typhoon. The decision on the winner was expected anytime around mid-December, but has been postponed to early 2012. The original deal was for $12 billion, but when the commercial bids were opened on 4 November 2011, the price went up to $15 billion, and is expected to touch $18 billion when the contract is signed. The tenders were floated in 2007, during Air Chief F.H. Major's tenure. The deal is likely to be inked in 2012 during Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne's tenure. The aircraft will replace the ageing MiGs. The first 18 will be bought off-the-shelf and the remaining 108 will be made in India, under licence. The first fighter will fly four years after the deal is signed, which is in 2016, approximately 15 years after the statement of case was made by the IAF for the first time.

AGNI-V

Strategic 5,000 km range nuclear-tipped indigenous missile
Buoyed by the success of the two-stage 20-m long Agni-IV, weighing 17 tonnes, carrying 800-kg conventional explosives, the Defence Research and Defence Organisation (DRDO) is all set to test the 5,000-km plus range strategic Agni-V indigenous missile.

Agni -IV is test fired off the Orissa coast in November. PTI

The debut test-launch was slated for 2011, but has been delayed to February 2012. It will put India in an elite club of ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) owners.

The Agni-IV has more than a 3,000 km range and was earlier called Agni-II Prime. The first flight of Agni-II Prime in December 2010 was a failure.

Admiral Gorshkov

Aircraft carrier, rechristened INS Vikramaditya

Indian Navy crew began training in Russia aboard the 44,570 tonne Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov in April 2011. To be rechristened INS Vikramaditya, the carrier will be inducted in the Indian fleet after she's commissioned in Russia on 4 December 2012. The deal, when inked in January 2004, was valued at $974 million. A fresh deal was signed with a new price tag of $2.3 billion in early 2010.

The deal will also be remembered for Commodore Sukhjinder Singh, who was dismissed from service in early 2011, after his illegitimate liaison with a Russian woman came to light. He met her during his tenure in Russia to oversee the refit of Gorshkov. An inquiry was held to ascertain whether Singh had in any way influenced the final price. There has been speculation about whether he was honey-trapped.

After the ship is commissioned in Russia in December 2012, she will take a month to reach India. India will now get Gorshkov in 2013, instead of the earlier August 2008. Captain Suraj Berry, posted in Mumbai, is tipped to be the first commissioning Indian Commanding Officer of the carrier.