Article Posted on : - Dec 23, 2010

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during their joint press conference in New delhi. PTI Photo.

MOSCOW (PTI): Russian media on Wednesday hailed President Dmitry Medvedev's summit talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, as it praised the "historic" USD 295 million deal for design and development of fifth generation advanced fighter aircraft.

"Love with Privileges" - popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets reports from New Delhi that the joint statement signed by the two leaders reflects their mutual joy at the transformation of bilateral India, Russia strategic cooperation into 'special, privileged strategic partnership'.

"Level of bilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovative modernisation will rise," Moskovsky Komsomolets quotes Medvedev.

The country's media also hailed about 30 government and private level agreements signed in New Delhi.

According to financial daily Vedomosti in its "The Project for Half Century" article notes that the 5G fighter deal inked on the sidelines of Medvedev - Singh summit "was unprecedented in the world history".

"The preliminary design contract (PDC) of perspective multirole fighter (PMF) was the only agreement signed on the sidelines of President Medvedev's in the absence of press.

Although its value is around USD 300 million, but it will keep the Russian aircraft industry busy for half a century," Vedomosti writes.

Quoting a top expert of the independent defence think-tank Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) Konstantin Makiyenko 'Vedomosti' reminds that most successful bilateral USD 8 billion Su-30MKI project also began with the signing of USD 340 million contract for the development of a multirole fighter jet for the IAF by Sukhoi and kept the Russian aircraft industry busy for 15 years.

"The new 5G fighter project will keep it busy well past the middle of this century," Makiyenko said.

Editor of 'Moscow Defence Brief' magazine Mikhail Barabanov noted that Indo-Russian 5G contract is 'unprecedented in the world practice', as the US has never allowed anyone into their F-22 Raptor project at the design and development stage and its export is also banned.

The government daily "Rossiskaya Gazeta' notes the signing of long term programme for cooperation in science and technology, agreement between the Russian edition of Silicon Valley - "Skolkovo" foundation and Tata Group on the innovative interaction. Tata group chairman Ratan Tata is on the advisory council of "Skolkovo".

Popular youth daily "Komsomolskaya Pravda" in its article "India and Russia will launch Lunokhod on the Moon and will Develop New Generation Fighter" notes that half of the bilateral trade is in the hi-tech and innovative products.